Story ID: 004
Business Aircraft Accident Reports: February 2026
By: David Jack Kenny
Caption: Preliminary and final accident reports, February 2026
Word Count: 1669
Preliminary ReportsChalk Buttes Crash Claims Four
Robinson R66, Oct. 22, 2025, Ekalaka, Montana
The pilot, his wife, and two of their three children were killed when the helicopter crashed in the Chalk Buttes Range 12 minutes after taking off from a private ranch south of Ekalaka Airport (97M). Their third child was not on board. The helicopter was flying in trail with a Cessna 182 whose pilot lost the helicopter’s ADS-B track about a minute after the R66 flew through a gap in the southwest end of the buttes.
A witness three-quarters of a mile to the southeast saw the two aircraft flying low over the buttes. She reported that the helicopter began to climb; then “something came off it” and it descended out of sight. The wreckage was found in an open area of about 300 sq ft; the NTSB’s preliminary report lists debris including the two left doors, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, tail rotor driveshaft cover, and tail rotor; but does not mention the main rotor blades.
Hurricane Relief Mission Meets Tragic End
Beechcraft B100 King Air, Nov. 10, 2025, Coral Springs, Florida
A King Air packed with 1,000 pounds of emergency relief supplies slammed into a pond five minutes after taking off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE), destroying the aircraft and killing the pilot and only passenger. The supplies were intended for Jamaican victims of Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island as a Category 5 storm on October 28. Volunteers who helped load the aircraft recalled that an unfueled generator was held down by a cargo net, but the remaining items were stowed unsecured in the cabin.
Preliminary ADS-B data showed that after taking off from Runway 27, the aircraft climbed at an average rate of 1,000 fpm and levelled off at 4,000 feet. The pilot complied with ATC vectors to turn right to headings of 120 and then 90 degrees, but by the time it reached 90 degrees the King Air had accelerated from 150 to 200 knots and began descending. “Heavy breathing and ‘grunting’ sounds” were heard on the radio as it passed through 1,500 feet at 270 knots. Home security cameras captured two frames of the airplane in a steep nose-down attitude before striking the water. Flight-track data suggested that the airplane entered a band of cumulus clouds shown on GOES-19 satellite imagery, remaining in the clouds through the right turn and initial descent.
Sharp Turn Preceded Fatal Citation III Crash
Cessna Citation III, Dec. 15, 2025, Toluca, Mexico
A Cessna Citation III crashed while on approach to Toluca International Airport (MMTO), killing all 10 people aboard, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation. The twinjet, registered XA-PRO, had departed Acapulco for Toluca with eight passengers and two pilots.
The ministry said that “at approximately 12:31 p.m. local time, an air accident was registered south of the vicinity of the Toluca International Airport.” The crew had reportedly contacted the Toluca tower and received clearance to land shortly before the crash.
Surveillance footage showed the aircraft in a steep left bank about 1.5 nm from the runway threshold before it descended and impacted terrain. The wreckage came to rest in an area south of the airport.
Emergency services responded immediately, and the accident is under investigation by Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency, the Directorate of Aviation Accident and Incident Analysis, and the Directorate of Air Navigation Services in Mexican Airspace.
Interim ReportsRough-Water Takeoff Ends with Three Fatalities
Cessna 208 amphibian Caravan, Jan. 7, 2025, Rottnest Island, Western Australia
The pilot and two of six passengers were unable to escape the flooded cabin after the impact of a sea wave caused the amphibious Caravan to became airborne prematurely, then roll left until the left wing struck the water. The nose of the fuselage sank rapidly, filling the forward section of the cabin with water. Two passengers escaped through the upper section of the right rear door; two more were rescued after the coxswain of the seaplane operator’s tender vessel broke through the left rear window.
The wreckage subsequently sank to the bottom of the bay. The bodies of the pilot and two remaining passengers were recovered later that evening; all were out of their restraints, and one passenger was found “partially outside the aircraft” through an overwing window that had broken during the accident.
The 1,908-hour commercial pilot had logged 708 hours in the Caravan amphibian, including 60 in the previous 90 days. The company’s head of flying operations reported that the pilot had not hesitated to cancel other flights for unsuitable winds or sea conditions. At the time of the accident, winds were reported at 25 knots with gusts to 34.
The pilot warned the passengers that the takeoff would be “rough” and altered the course of the takeoff run to take advantage of smoother conditions closer to shore. He brought the airplane onto the step at an indicated 43 knots airspeed; at 57 knots, it became airborne after striking a swell, pitched up sharply, and rolled left.
Final ReportsMisplaced Pin Caused CJ4 Gear Collapse
Cessna Citation CJ4, Sept. 25, 2025, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The collapse of a Cessna Citation CJ4’s right main landing gear during rollout at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (KBTR) was caused by improper installation of the aft trunnion pin, according to the NTSB’s final report. Neither pilot was injured, but the resulting failure punctured the right wing and caused substantial structural damage.
Maintenance at a manufacturer--authorized service center had been completed just 2.9 flight hours before the accident. That work included removal and reinstallation of the right main gear’s aft trunnion pin. Investigators determined the pin “was not installed far enough [forward] to allow the retaining roll pin to engage and retain the trunnion pin,” leaving the gear assembly improperly secured.
At about 10,000 feet msl, the crew felt “a bump/thud in the back of the airplane,” initially believed to be something falling in the lavatory. Moments later, the landing gear’s unsafe light illuminated. The crew performed emergency procedures, including cycling the gear and resetting the landing gear circuit breaker. With three green lights indicating gear down, they continued the flight and landed at Baton Rouge. During rollout, after moderate braking, the right main gear collapsed.
Textron Aviation’s maintenance manual specifies that the trunnion pin must extend at least 2.0 inches (50.8 mm) forward of the aft spar fitting to ensure proper retention.
The NTSB cited as a contributing factor “the failure of maintenance personnel to follow the aircraft manufacturer’s maintenance procedures.” It also referenced a similar 2018 incident investigated by Spain’s CIAIAC, which led Textron Aviation to issue a mandatory service letter requiring inspection of the trunnion pin installation.
Icing, Inadequate Training Cited in Fatal Flight-test Accident
Hawker 900XP, Feb. 7, 2024, Westwater, Utah
The flight crew’s decision to conduct post-maintenance stall testing without specific training and their violation of several specified test conditions, including maximum altitude, minimum cloud clearance, and assuring that the wings were free of ice, were all found to have contributed to the airplane’s destruction following a flat spin. The accident was one of at least three that have occurred in Hawker jets during testing required after routine removal, inspection, and re-installation of the wing leading edges and deicing panels.
The Pilot’s Operating Manual (POM) cautions that pilots performing the test “SHOULD HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN PERFORMING STALLS IN THE HAWKER AND MUST BE PREPARED FOR UNACCEPTABLE STALL BEHAVIOR AT ANY POINT,” further warning that “there is no natural stall warning or aerodynamic buffet before the stall.”
Reconstruction of the accident flight showed that the jet may have picked up as much as 1 mm of ice climbing through IMC from 5,000 to 16,700 feet, finally levelling at 20,000, 2,000 feet above the maximum altitude specified for the stall test.
Performance calculations showed that the stick shaker activated at 117.5 knots airspeed and the stick pusher at 113.5 knots, both appropriate for the airplane’s weight and loading, but the stall began as the stick shaker activated. Ice accumulation was calculated to have reduced the wing’s critical angle of attack by as much as 6 degrees. The crew responded to the stall with full left aileron, full power, and full aft elevator, aggravating the stall/spin. The NTSB found that their inappropriate response “suggested that they were insufficiently trained for the mission and the brief guidance from the POM provided no clear instructions for the possible consequences of ‘unacceptable stall characteristics’…or a proper recovery.”
PC-12 Engine Failure Remains Unexplained
Pilatus PC-12/47, May 7, 2024, Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut, Canada
A teardown inspection revealed that the blades of the engine’s first- and second--stage power turbines had fractured mid-span but was unable to identify any proximate cause of the damage. The single-engine turboprop was descending towards Rankin Inlet Airport (CYRT) when “the engine emitted a series of bangs with flames appearing from the exhaust ducts followed by a sharp reduction in power.”
The crew radioed a mayday call before making a gear-up landing on sea ice about 5 nm east of the airport, then manually activated the ELT. The two pilots and sole passenger were not injured. Responders from the local fire department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police rescued them by snowmobile an hour and 20 minutes later. The aircraft sustained damage to the lower fuselage and two propeller blades.
The PT6A-67B turboprop engine was manufactured in 2006 and had been operated for 13,498.6 hours and 8,694 cycles since new. In a 2020 overhaul by a manufacturer--approved facility, the first-stage turbine was found serviceable and the second-stage turbine’s blades were replaced with a new set. The first-stage turbine blades were reported to have been operated for 8,671 cycles and the second-stage blades for 2,395 cycles since new; the engine had accumulated 4,558.4 hours and 2,417 cycles since its last overhaul. ζ
—Amy Wilder contributed to this report.