Lucky Student Pilot Survives Archer Accident in Montana

Air Safety Week,  April 28, 2008  

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Andrew Scheffer, a Rocky Mountain College student, recently survived the crash of his Piper PA-28-181 Archer near Bridger, MT through a combination of good equipment and good luck.

Scheffer took off from Billings, MT the evening of March 25 bound for Powell, Wyoming. He was conducting a solo, night, cross-country flight in preparation for obtaining a commercial pilot certificate. The pilot was scheduled to return later that night.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on the accident, things were fine for the first 45 minutes of the night flight, but things took a turn for the worse when rain and snow moved in along his flight path.

He was at 7,500 feet mean sea level and checked his sectional chart for terrain clearance in the area. The pilot then entered a standard rate turn to the left in order to return to Billings. During this turn, he received a terrain warning on a Garmin 430 global positioning system. The pilot immediately pulled up and did not recall the impact.

An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) was recorded in the area of the Pryor Mountains, Custer National Forest. When the pilot did not arrive, an Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued.

A while later, the pilot regained consciousness, removed his restraint system, and shut down the airplane's electrical power. He exited the airplane and looked around outside, where it was snowing and raining.

The pilot climbed back into the wreckage, and obtained space blankets from the survival kit, which he wrapped himself up in. He attempted to make a phone call but it did not go through.

The pilot decided to spend the night in the airplane. Part way through the night, he climbed into the tail of the airplane because snow was entering the cockpit. During the night, the pilot fired two flares from the survival kit.

The pilot further stated that in the morning, he set off an additional flare when he saw an airplane nearby. After climbing to the top of a hill, the pilot was able to use his cell phone to contact his certified flight instructor.

In addition, he applied electrical power to the airplane and contacted the over flying aircraft on the radio; however, the radio ceased operating after about 10 minutes.

The pilot then climbed up the terrain from the wreckage, and used an orange tarp to increase his visibility to the over flying aircraft. Once he was located, the pilot hiked to a clearing where a search and rescue helicopter picked him up.

Also helping his chances for survival was the fact that he attended the Montana Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division's Winter Survival Clinic this past January.

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