Helena teen pilot safely lands plane after engine failure near town

A Helena teenager turned a sudden engine failure into a safe landing after her plane lost power shortly after takeoff and she put the Cessna down in a field near town.

Claire Bebich, 18, was flying solo on April 15 when the engine quit at about 500 feet above the ground. With too little altitude to turn back to the runway, she aimed for open ground and brought the plane down without damaging the aircraft. No injuries were reported.

Bebich said she immediately knew the situation had become serious. “I don't have my engine ... I'm going down,” she told the tower as the emergency unfolded. The landing was the kind of split-second decision flight instructors drill into students, and in this case it likely kept a close call from becoming a crash.

Her instructor, Madelyn Mitchell of Butte Aviation, said Bebich handled the emergency well and credited her training. Mitchell described the moment as one of the worst places to lose power because there are few good options that low, especially during the initial climb. The Federal Aviation Administration says an engine failure at that stage requires the pilot to lower the nose and establish the proper glide attitude, then commit quickly to a forced landing.

That guidance matches what happened over Helena. Instead of trying to stretch the glide or force a return to the runway, Bebich chose the field, a decision the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook treats as the safest response when an aircraft cannot continue flight. Industry training materials also stress that low-altitude engine failures leave almost no margin for hesitation.

The weather offered no obvious complications. Helena’s conditions that day were relatively calm, with a high around 57 degrees and light wind. A nearby observation at Helena Regional Airport showed clear skies and visibility of 10 miles or more, giving Bebich a workable setting for an emergency landing, though not a cause for the engine failure itself.

Bebich said the experience has not fully sunk in, even after people congratulated her. She said she is continuing to work toward her pilot certification soon. That matters for Lewis and Clark County because it shows how a young local pilot, a flight school, and a tightly trained emergency response can keep a dangerous moment from becoming a tragedy.

Butte Aviation, where Bebich trains, says it offers flight instruction and operates as an FAA Part 145 repair station with an on-site mechanic, background that underscores how much aviation safety depends on both pilot judgment and maintenance discipline.