A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report about US Senator Tim Sheehy’s emergency landing of an airplane on April 10, 2026, was released on Sunday, May 10.
According to the report, the routine training flight ended in an emergency landing in a field after a military trainer jet lost all engine power near Ennis.
The aircraft, a Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-39, took off from a Bozeman airport on a clear April afternoon with a flight instructor and a student pilot (Sheehy) on board. The crew was practicing an instrument approach to the Ennis-Big Sky Airport when the emergency unfolded.
The jet was flying at 8,500 feet when Sheehy began slowing the aircraft to prepare for landing. As the jet slowed to 190 knots, the engine suddenly lost all thrust. The flight instructor attempted to push the throttle forward, but the engine did not respond.
The instructor immediately took control of the aircraft and slowed the jet to its best glide speed. Sheehy attempted to restart the engine in the air, but those efforts failed.
