Business Aircraft Accident Reports: March 2026

Preliminary Reports

Right-seat Occupant Not SIC-qualified in CE-550 Crash

Cessna Citation II, Dec. 18, 2025, Statesville, North Carolina

The right-seat occupant of a Cessna Citation II that crashed near Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH) was not qualified to serve as second-in-command, according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. All seven people aboard were killed, including the pilot and six passengers—one of whom was seated in the right seat. The pilot-in-command had a limitation requiring an SIC.

The aircraft, registered N257BW to a holding company owned by Nascar driver Greg Biffle, was operating under Part 91 on a personal flight to Sarasota, Florida. It departed Statesville at approximately 10:06 under visual flight rules.

The NTSB determined the right-seat occupant held a valid pilot certificate and first-class medical but lacked the qualifications required under 14 CFR Part 61.55. His logbook showed 175.3 hours total time, all in single-engine land airplanes.

During taxi, the PIC, right-seat occupant, and another pilot-rated passenger (seated near the cockpit) noted that a thrust reverser indicator light was inoperative, though the reverser appeared to function. During the takeoff roll, a rear passenger commented that the left engine seemed to be producing more power than the right.

After departure, the airplane entered a climbing left turn and completed approximately 180 degrees of turn at 2,200 feet msl before descending in a continued turn. The right-seat occupant attempted to contact Atlanta Center to activate the IFR clearance, but controller workload prevented a response.

Cockpit voice recordings captured the pilot stating that his altitude indicator and possibly other left-side instruments were malfunctioning. The autopilot disengaged at 10:10, and the pilot briefly transferred control to the right seat before later resuming it.

As the aircraft maneuvered back to the airport, the pilot configured for landing. A transmission over the CTAF stated, “We’re having some issues here.” The aircraft struck the approach light system 1,380 feet short of Runway 28 before impacting terrain and catching fire.

Investigators found no evidence of pre-impact structural failure or uncontained engine failure. The investigation remains ongoing.

Flight Crew Survives ‘Radical’ Pitch Excursions

Cessna 560XL, Aug. 14, 2025, Oakland Park, Florida

The two-pilot crew regained control of the airplane and landed safely after “a series of radical pitch-up events into one or more stalls followed by an uncommanded steep pitch-down event.” Neither was injured during an emergency landing at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (KFLL). The twin-engine business jet had departed from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE) on its first flight after release from a paint shop; its intended destination was Orlando Executive Airport (KORL).

Shop personnel advised that the airplane would not be ready in time for a planned 14:00 departure. After the work was complete and the jet was fueled, the airline transport pilot and commercial pilot assisted shop staff in performing “multiple operational checks" including engine runs, flight control positioning checks, and cycling the flaps from 0 to 35 degrees. The ATP recalled that the controls seemed to move normally, though “the control column seemed a bit closer than he remembered when it was full forward.”

The takeoff roll was uneventful, but once the ATP raised the landing gear, the jet assumed an unusually high pitch angle. He asked the commercial pilot to lower the nose, but “it became immediately obvious that she was unable to do this, so he assumed control of the airplane and placed full available forward pressure on the control column.” The crew declared an emergency and attempted to turn back, but were unable to arrest the climb before reaching 9,500 feet, “well above their assigned altitude of 2,000.” They were also unable to change frequencies to contact the Miami ARTCC because both pilots “had both arms pressing forward on the control column in an attempt to prevent a stall.”

Following a series of extreme pitch excursions, the captain made a 360-degree turn at idle power with the speed brakes deployed to set up for landing on Runway 10L at KFLL. The maneuver slowed the airplane by 120 knots, leaving it about 30 knots faster than normal approach speed. The jet pitched up again in ground effect, but the captain landed on the last quarter of the runway and then taxiied to the ramp. Post-flight inspection found a bent elevator pushrod “with evidence of contact with an adjacent structural member.”

Power Loss Downs Medical Helicopter

Airbus Helicopters EC130T2, Oct. 6, 2025, Sacramento, California

Moments after taking off from the U.C. Davis Medical Center, the air ambulance lost engine power and crashed onto U.S. Route 50. The pilot, flight paramedic, and flight nurse all suffered serious injuries; the nurse died four days later. ADS-B data showed that the helicopter reached a maximum altitude of 500 feet before beginning an 11-second descent. The flight’s planned destination was Sacramento McClellan Airfield (KMCC).

The paramedic recalled that the helicopter entered autorotation shortly after takeoff. She had time to make a MAYDAY call on the company’s Flight Guard frequency before it struck the eastbound lanes of Highway 50 about 1,600 feet from the hospital heliport, coming to rest on its left side. Evidence of a main rotor blade strike was found on the residential side of the highway fence, and part of the outer section of one blade fragment was found embedded in the roof of a detached garage.

Below-minimums Approach Preceded Quarry Crash

Socata TBM 700, Nov. 24, 2025, Monroe, Wisconsin

The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were both killed when the single-engine turboprop crashed into a quarry while apparently initiating a missed approach. Before receiving clearance for the RNAV approach to Runway 12 at the Monroe Municipal Airport (KEFT), the pilot told the controller, “If we can get in there it will be a full stop, if not we will go missed back to Oshkosh” where the flight had departed half an hour earlier. Category A minimums for the approach were 400-foot ceilings and one mile visibility; prevailing weather at the time included a 300-foot overcast and one-quarter mile visibility in fog.

The controller issued amended missed-approach instructions to climb on runway heading to 4,000 feet msl. ADS-B data showed that the airplane crossed the visual descent point at 1,500 feet msl (about 400 feet above ground level) at 110 knots, then began a climbing left turn to 1,800 feet while accelerating to 146 knots. Ground speed increased to 188 knots during a right-turning descent to 1,100 msl, followed by a right 270-degree climb to 3,000 before the track ended. 

The 300-foot debris path included damage to portable rock crushers and a wheeled loader in an orientation “consistent with a nose-down high-speed impact.”

The pilot had purchased the airplane 20 days earlier, and both he and the passenger completed the initial transition training required by his insurer the following day. Both were instrument-rated private pilots and had completed flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks on that same date.

Final Reports

LTE Implicated in NSW

Bell 206L-1, March 11, 2022, 20 km northwest of Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) concluded that a low-altitude, low-airspeed maneuver in a 45-degree right yaw created “conditions conducive to the onset of loss of tail rotor effectiveness” (LTE), resulting in the helicopter’s descent into the Snowy River. 

Four officers of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) were on board, in addition to the pilot. The resulting high gross weight and corresponding demand on engine power increased LTE susceptibility.

The helicopter took off from the Jindabayne Aerodrome (YJIN) at 10:50 to conduct a weed survey flight along the riverbank, which required slow flight at low altitude. The pilot established a 45-degree right yaw to improve the officers’ viewing angle. At about 11:12 the pilot “touched” the left pedal to straighten the helicopter, and it yawed further right. Unable to gain forward speed, he attempted autorotation into the river, where the helicopter struck a boulder. The pilot and two officers were seriously injured; the two in the aft cabin seats sustained minor injuries. The company’s head of flying operations in the vicinity received an ELT alert, located the site, and coordinated rescue efforts.

The ATSB noted that one of the four NPWS officers was not actually required to conduct the survey. That person’s presence also added weight, increasing the hazards of low-altitude flying and the risk of LTE.

‘Improvised Instrument Approach’ Ends in CFIT

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300, Dec. 27, 2023, Diavik Aerodrome, Northwest Territories, Canada

The pilots’ attempt to locate a landing zone on a frozen lake in half a mile visibility by plotting a course on an electronic flight bag ended in controlled flight into terrain when the wheel-ski-equipped Twin Otter struck the ground a mile short of the intended touchdown point. Two of the eight passengers were seriously injured; the remaining passengers and pilots suffered minor injuries.

The aircraft was one of two company Twin Otters assigned to transport workers and supplies from Yellowknife Airport (CYZF) to camps at Margaret Lake and Lac de Gras. The accident aircraft landed at the Margaret Lake camp’s improvised airstrip at 11:52. At 11:58, both crews restarted their engines with the intention of back-taxiing together. However, they lost sight of each other in blowing snow.

En route, ceilings decreased to 300-400 feet with ½-mile visibility. The Diavik Airport UNICOM reported winds from 300 degrees at 25 knots gusting to 32 with one-half-mile visibility. The pilot monitoring loaded the improvised airstrip on the lake’s surface into their EFBs and extended the centerline of the landing area to provide lateral guidance.

They began their approach on a 2.5-mile final, flew a left-hand circuit, and configured for landing, only to go around after being unable to distinguish the shoreline. Two more attempts followed. On the fourth, they descended below 50 feet but lost visual contact. When a hill appeared in the windscreen, they tried to pull up, but struck the hillside at a 44-knot groundspeed. ζ

— Amy Wilder contributed to this report.