Plane hit house as new buyer was flying it home

HELENA — A Missoula man had just purchased a single-engine airplane and was having it flown home when it lost power and crashed into a house just west of Helena Regional Airport, police said.

The pilot, Robert Brunson, and the plane’s owner, Duane Felstet, were both treated for injuries after the Tuesday crash.

Helena Police Chief Troy McGee said that Felstet, 78, had purchased the Piper PA-28 and Brunson, 75, was flying it to Missoula for him when it lost power shortly after takeoff.

Officials have said the plane clipped a power line and a tree before crashing into a shed and the back of a house. 

No one on the ground was injured. 

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Homeowner James Samargo said his girlfriend and her two dogs were in the house when the plane crashed, causing damage to the master bedroom.