Northstar Jet GM Comments on Model of Aircraft that Crashed at Missoula International Airport on Wednesday

More plane information turned up on Thursday after National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived in Missoula following a fatal plane crash at Missoula International Airport. Northstar Jet General Manager Kynan Spethman gave KGVO News a firsthand look into what kind of plane was involved.

"So from what we know, it was a 1940 German aircraft called a Bucker Jungmeister, and this particular model was a BU-133, a fixed-wing bi-wing single-engine aircraft," Spethman said. "It was a WWII German trainer is what they were kind of notorious for. Certain folks in the industry would call them a high performance trainer, a bi-wing tail-wheel aircraft."

Spethman said routine stops for more fuel or even a break to stretch your legs is common among single-engine aircraft pilots, but says he can’t think of any difficulties 52-year-old Patrick Carter might have faced flying this particular plane.

"Any airplane you need to be trained in how to operate," Spethman said. "Radial engines or a high maintenance engine compared to more modern aircraft...There's some high maintenance sides that are associated with a radial engine, but you know, nothing standard mechanics can't take care of. Other than that, I really don't have any answers."

As of late Thursday afternoon, there still was no known cause for the crash.