Pilot injured after plane crashses in Yellowstone

Emergency responders view the wreckage of a small plan that crashed Monday in Yellowstone National Park.
NPS photo

Emergency responders view the wreckage of a small plan that crashed Monday in Yellowstone National Park.

A 54-year old man was injured when the single-engine airplane he was piloting crashed Monday morning in Yellowstone National Park near the community of Gardiner, Mont.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m., multiple callers reported that a small plane had crashed just north of the Gardiner Cemetery and east of Yellowstone Trail inside Yellowstone National Park, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.

The accident site is south of the publicly owned Gardiner Airport, which is outside the park boundary.

Emergency personnel walk past the wreckage of a crashed airplane Monday after the injured pilot was transported for medical care.

Emergency personnel walk past the wreckage of a crashed airplane Monday after the injured pilot was transported for medical care.

The seriously injured pilot was removed from the wreckage and transported by ambulance to the Gardiner Airport.  He was transferred to the Summit Air Ambulance helicopter and taken to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital for treatment.  His identity has not been released.

The plane is an Aero Commander agricultural aircraft.  It is designed to carry a single pilot and no passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the accident, which is under investigation.

The Park County, Mont., Sheriff’s Office and Gardiner Ambulance joined Yellowstone National Park law enforcement rangers, firefighters, and a park ambulance in responding to the incident.

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