Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., made an emergency landing in a Montana field Friday after his private plane experienced an engine failure. The first-term senator was conducting a routine flight training exercise with one other person onboard when the incident occurred near the town of Ennis, according to the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Immediate Action & Core Facts
Sen. Sheehy, an FAA-certified commercial pilot and flight instructor, safely landed the plane without injury to himself or his co-pilot. A minor fuel leak was reported after the landing, and federal aviation authorities have been notified for review. Sheehy's chief of staff, Mike Berg, confirmed the mechanical failure in a statement.
Deeper Dive & Context
Sheehy, 40, has been a pilot for years and completes flight training exercises twice annually. Before entering Congress in 2025, he served as a Navy SEAL with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, leaving the military in 2014 after being wounded in action.
Past Incident
In 2019, Sheehy was involved in a fatal plane crash while a student pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board's final report stated he was not flying the plane when it crashed into a Florida home, killing the instructor and injuring a teenage girl. Sheehy sustained minor injuries.
Official Response
Sheehy's office referred all inquiries to Berg's statement, which emphasized the routine nature of the training flight and the mechanical failure. The incident remains under review by aviation authorities.