NTSB report details events leading to Snake River plane crash
Published at
BLACKFOOT — Pilot error is to blame for a small plane crash on the frozen Snake River near Porterville Bridge in November, according to federal investigators.
A crash report by the National Transportation and Safety Board, released last month, says the Nov. 9, 2025, crash happened as the aircraft’s student pilot was attempting to circle the runway before landing at McCarley Field Airport in Blackfoot.
RELATED | Plane crashes into Snake River near Porterville Bridge in Bingham County
It was about 7 p.m. and dark when the report says the 66-year-old student pilot was preparing to land and spotted another aircraft getting ready to take off. The student pilot tried to turn his plane to the left to circle the runway and allow the other plane to take off, but investigators say he unintentionally put the aircraft into a descent that caused it to collide with a tree.
The NTSB says the pilot then angled the aircraft upward, which caused it to stall and then collide with more trees. The loss of speed and damage from the collisions sent the plane nose-first into the Snake River.
The NTSB determined the cause of the crash was “the student pilot’s failure to maintain altitude and clearance from trees while maneuvering at night,” the report states.
The student pilot had over 675 hours of total flight time and 70 hours of command time, according to the report. He was the only one on board the plane when it crashed, and he was not seriously injured.
Shortly after the crash, EastIdahoNews.com spoke with a homeowner near the crash site, who said he had heard a loud thud and assumed it was a large vehicle passing by. However, a few minutes later, his doorbell rang and he opened it to find a man “dripping wet, with blood on his face,” he said.
“I’m really surprised he got out of that river and walked up here,” said the homeowner, who did not want to be identified. “He’s lucky to be alive. If he had hit that bridge, we wouldn’t have seen him.”
RELATED | Homeowner who helped pilot that crashed in Snake River describes what happened
Emergency crews with the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office worked for several hours the following day to remove the plane from the Snake River.