We kick off the new week with the following stories...
Be safe out there!
Tom
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Plane crashes in field at Caldwell Airport, under investigation by federal agencies
By MARIELA ESQUIVEL-RODRIGUEZ
CALDWELL — City officials confirmed that there
was a plane crash on Friday morning at the Caldwell Executive Airport, and that the crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The Caldwell Fire Department released information in an online post at 11:30 a.m. and said its crews were responding to a plane crash at the intersection of Ustick Road and Aviation Road and asked for the area to be avoided as more details would be released when they had them.
The fire department then updated the information saying the investigation is being conducted by the FAA and NTSB.
The Canyon County Coroner’s Office confirmed it was on the scene of the plane crash but is still conducting an investigation.
The crashed plane could be seen in a field near runway 30 guarded by the Caldwell Police Department.
The city’s director of aviation, Scott Swanson,
confirmed the plane crash was on airport property and said that representatives from the FAA and the Idaho Transportation Department’s Division of Aeronautics were also on scene and that the NTSB will start its investigation Saturday, Feb. 7.
Swanson said he expects to have answers from the NTSB’s investigation in late spring or early summer because of the agency’s investigation process. He said the agency has to reconstruct all the events that it can identify from what is available and come to a conclusion based on those findings.
Swanson also said the identifiable information will be unavailable until the FAA and NTSB investigation is complete.
https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/plane-crashes-in-field-at-caldwell-airport-under-investigation-by-federal-agencies/article_ff192488-a1d3-46f5-8ab0-84d37fba6de6.html
Private plane forced to make emergency landing without wheels at Lunken Airport
Kurt Knue
CINCINNATI —
Officials say that an airplane had to make an
emergency landing at Lunken Airport on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Cincinnati Fire Department, a small private plane experienced a mechanical failure that caused its landing gear to be unable to fully deploy on one side as it went in to land at the airport.
Because of this, officials say that the pilot was forced to perform an emergency "belly landing" without wheels on one of the airport's runways.
Officials say that despite the plane's rough landing, it ultimately came to a stop safely on the runway, with both of the airplane's occupants able to walk away from the plane without injuries.
First responders were dispatched to the scene at 4:34 p.m. as the plane made impact with the ground. The runway was also closed as airport officials began to clean up debris that fell off the plane during the landing.
An investigation into what caused the plane to malfunction remains underway.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/plane-makes-landing-without-wheels-at-lunken-airport/70279445
Small aircraft rolls over near Airport Manatee in Palmetto
PALMETTO, Fla. (WWSB) - A small aircraft rolled
over in a field near Airport Manatee Friday afternoon, prompting an emergency response.
North River Fire District crews responded to the incident around 12:09 p.m. after receiving reports of the overturned aircraft.
Two people were aboard the plane and exited without injuries, officials said.
The cause of the rollover remains unknown.
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2026/02/06/small-aircraft-rolls-over-runway-airport-manatee-palmetto/?tbref=hp
Man identified after fatal plane crash near SC airport
by Tatiana Carter
GILBERT, S.C. (WACH) — Authorities have
confirmed that a small plane crashed in Lexington County near Gilbert on Friday morning.
Lexington County Fire Chief Kyle Minick and Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher told WACH FOX that one person died in the crash, and another was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Crews received an alert about a small plane in distress around 9:17 a.m. while attempting to land at White Plains Airport (SC99) in Gilbert.
The plane lost engine power and crashed in the woods near Country Creek Lane around 9:25 a.m.
NTSB officials say the plane left Columbia and was headed to Decatur, Alabama.
Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported engine issues and an engine failure.
Authorities say pilot tried a forced landing at the White Plains airport but ended up crashing 1800 feet short of the runaway.
No one on the ground was injured.
Officials say Andrew Frederick Nichols, 30, of Huntsville, A.L., was the passenger in the plane that died on the scene.
The pilot was transported to an area hospital.
The NTSB released the following information about the crash:
- The aircraft is popular, with fixed landing gear.
- The pilot is in stable condition, but seriously injured.
- Investigators are examining the fuel system to determine what caused the crash.
- On Saturday, a transportation company will take the plane wreckage to a site in Griffin, G.A., where it will be further investigated.
- In the next ten days, a preliminary crash report will be available.
- The Lexington County Coroner’s Office, the NTSB, and the FAA are continuing to investigate the crash.
Plane makes emergency landing on SR-67 in Lakeside
By: Yasmeen Ludy
Posted 3:59 PM, Feb 07, 2026 and last updated 9:45 PM, Feb 07, 2026
LAKESIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — A single-engine plane made an emergency landing on SR-67 in Lakeside Saturday morning, creating a shocking sight for drivers and temporarily slowing traffic.
The private aircraft landed on the side of the
freeway near the Winter Gardens Boulevard exit just after 10 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The plane partially blocked the slow lane, forcing southbound traffic into one lane. Officials say no one was injured in the incident.
FAA officials on scene confirmed the landing was caused by an engine issue. Aviation experts say when an engine fails, pilots must think quickly and follow specific procedures.
"There's what we call some emergency action procedures that every pilot has memorized for their particular airplane for critical events. Engine failure would be one of them," said Rich Martindell, a former Air Force aircraft accident investigator.
The first priority is maintaining control of the aircraft.
"First thing you're going to do is establish what we call the best glide speed. So you keep the airplane flying. You don't want the airplane to stall and fall out of the sky. So you get a glide speed, look for a landing zone," Martindell said.
Martindell explained that freeway landings are not always a pilot's first choice, but when there's an emergency, options are limited.
"I would try to go for the middle of the lane and have as much room as possible, but there could have been some reason for him to be on one side or the other," Martindell said.
The emergency landing is under investigation, which could take months to complete.
"Normally the information-gathering stage takes about a month, and then it can take up to a year for the NTSB to come out with a final report," Martindell said.
Around noon, crews were seen pulling the plane onto a tow truck bed and moving it off the highway shoulder. Traffic returned to normal Saturday afternoon.
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/east-county-news/plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-sr-67-in-lakeside
NTSB Prelim: Quicksilver II
Pilot Departed Runway 17L With Intentions Of Staying In The Traffic Pattern And Making A Water Landing At The Adjacent Water Runway
Location: Spring, TX Accident Number: CEN26LA097
Date & Time: January 20, 2026, 16:58 Local Registration: N4NH
Aircraft: Quicksilver II Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On January 20,2026, 1658 central standard time, a Quicksilver II, N4NH, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport, DWH, in Spring, Texas. The pilot, sole occupant, sustained no injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot departed runway 17L with intentions of staying in the traffic pattern and making a water landing at the adjacent water runway at the airport. After retracting the landing gear, the engine ran very rough and lost power from the normal 6,500 rpm to about 1,800 rpm. The airplane was about 100 ft above ground level (agl) as the pilot lowered the nose and prepared for landing on the remaining runway. The airplane landed hard on the left side of the runway with the wings level and the landing gear still retracted. The airplane continued into the grass on the left side of runway 17L and came to rest near taxiway H. Just before touchdown, the engine power began to recover, and the engine returned to full power as the airplane was sliding on its floats. The pilot closed the throttle to idle, turned off the engine, and exited the airplane.
During the hard landing the aluminum tubes from the rear engine area to the main landing gear were bent. The engine was displaced aft and the propeller contacted the elevator control tube and severed it. The elevator control horn was fractured and the elevator trim cable was damaged by contact with the propeller. The pilot also reported that several aluminum structural tubes were bent. He stated that there was no other damage to the airplane.
The pilot, with the help of ground personnel, lowered the landing gear, and returned the airplane to the hangar for further inspection.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-28-180
Pilot Stated That He Recently Purchased The Airplane Which Had Been Ferried From California To Florida
Location: Port St. Lucie, FL Accident Number: ERA26LA091
Date & Time: January 10, 2026, 19:25 Local Registration: N6516J
Aircraft: Piper PA-28-180 Injuries: 2 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On January 10, 2026, about 1925 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N6516J was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Port St. Lucie, Florida. The pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to the pilot, prior to takeoff from Okeechobee County Airport (OBE), Okeechobee, Florida, he “topped off” the fuel tanks with about 40 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. As the pilot was preparing to start the airplane’s engine, he turned on the master switch, observed that the cockpit and cabin lights were dim, and could not start the engine. The pilot requested a “jump start,” which started the engine and he subsequently taxied to the runway and took off, but during the initial climb, the engine was not producing adequate power to maintain a good climb rate. The airplane climbed past 2,000 ft mean sea level, and the pilot began to troubleshoot the “problem,” but shortly after, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine several times using the loss of engine power checklists, but was unsuccessful.
The pilot conducted a descending 180° right turn toward OBE but was too far (10 nautical miles) to reach the airport, and he attempted a forced landing to a field. The airplane impacted trees during the approach, both wings separated and the fuselage impacted terrain in a nose down inverted attitude about 100 ft from the initial tree impact.
After the accident, the pilot stated that he recently purchased the airplane which had been ferried from California to Florida. The airplane’s magnetos had been recently overhauled, and a new wiring harness was installed prior to the purchase. The airplane’s most recent annual inspection was performed on December 9, 2025, which was about 5 years after the previous annual inspection. The ferry pilot who transported the airplane to the pilot informed him that the alternator was experiencing intermittent drops during the four-day ferry ?ight, and that each flight leg was about 8 hours per day. No other issues were noted by the ferry pilot.
The airplane was recovered and retained for further examination.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
NTSB Prelim: Cessna 172K
As The Airplane Turned Onto The Base Leg For Runway 36, Total Engine Power Was Lost
Location: Amery, WI Accident Number: CEN26LA094
Date & Time: January 16, 2026, 11:30 Local Registration: N79118
Aircraft: Cessna 172K Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On January 16, 2026, about 1130 central standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N79118, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Amery, Wisconsin. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 maintenance test flight.
The pilot reported that during a post-maintenance test flight, he heard and felt a bang followed by violent shaking of the airframe with partial loss of engine power. The airplane was circling over Amery Municipal Airport, Amery, Wisconsin, and subsequently the pilot chose to reenter the traffic pattern for runway 36. As the airplane turned onto the base leg for runway 36, total engine power was lost. The pilot realized he would not make the runway and elected to perform a forced off-field landing in a snow-covered field. During the rollout in the snow, the airplane nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, and both wings.
Prior to the flight, the Lycoming O-320-E20 reciprocating engine had a complete overhaul and was reinstalled onto the airplane. The mechanic reported that there were no issues with the engine observed during the ground testing before the maintenance flight.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
44 Years ago today: On 9 February 1982 JAL flight JL350, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61, crashed while on approach to Tokyo-Haneda Airport, Japan, killing 24 occupants; 150 survived the accident.
| Date: | Tuesday 9 February 1982 |
| Time: | 08:44 |
| Type: | McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 |
| Owner/operator: | Japan Air Lines - JAL |
| Registration: | JA8061 |
| MSN: | 45889/291 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 36955 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W JT3D-3B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 174 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND) - Japan |
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Fukuoka Airport (FUK/RJFF) |
| Destination airport: | Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND/RJTT) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIC |
| Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:
JAL flight JL350, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61, crashed while on approach to Tokyo-Haneda Airport, Japan, killing 24 occupants; 150 survived the accident.
Flight JL350 took off from Fukuoka (FUK) runway 16 at 07:34 for a regular flight to Tokyo-Haneda (HND). The aircraft climbed to the cruising altitude of FL290. At 08:22 the crew started their descend to FL160. After reaching that altitude, they were cleared to descend down to 3000 feet. The aircraft was cleared for a runway 33R ILS approach and 5deg of flaps were selected at 08:35, followed by 25 degrees of flaps one minute later. The landing gear was lowered at 08:39 and 50 degrees of flaps were selected two minutes after that. At 08:42 the aircraft descended through 1000 feet at an airspeed of 135 knots with wind from a direction of 360deg at 20 knots. The co-pilot called out "500 feet" at 08:43:25 but the captain did not make the "stabilized" call-out as specified by JAL operational regulations. The airspeed decreased to 133 knots as the aircraft descended through 300 feet at 08:43:50 and the co-pilot warned the captain that the aircraft was approaching the decision height. At 08:43:56 the radio altimeter warning sounded, followed by the flight engineer calling out "200 feet", which was the decision height, three seconds later . At 08:44:01 the aircraft descended through 164 feet at 130KIAS. At that moment the captain cancelled autopilot, pushed his controls forward and retarded the throttles to idle. The co-pilot tried to regain control but the aircraft crashed into the shallow water of Tokyo Bay, 510 m short of the runway 33R threshold. The nose and the right hand wing separated from the fuselage.
The captain had a history of psychiatric issues, specifically paranoid schizophrenia, and had been prescribed psychotropic drugs from late 1980 to late 1981.
Despite outwardly appearing normal, he showed abnormal behaviors, especially during lapses in medication.
Although he had been deemed fit for captain duty in late 1981, his psychiatric condition persisted.
The captain’s mental deterioration likely culminated in hallucinations and delusional behavior. He possibly acted under a command hallucination and performed the three fatal control inputs.
People around the captain (his wife, friends, colleagues, superiors) suspected something was wrong but failed to report or act decisively.
Probable Cause (translated from Japanese):
The probable cause of this accident is considered to be the captain's actions during the landing approach at low altitude—specifically, pushing the control yoke forward without necessity, pulling back all engine power levers to the forward idle position, and then further pulling the reverse levers of engines No. 2 and No. 3 to the reverse idle position.
It is recognized that the reason the captain carried out such actions was due to a psychological disturbance.
