Today is Monday the 8th of June, 2026

NTSB Prelim: Cessna 182T

Aircraft Impacted The Rock-Covered Hillside In A Left-Wing-Low Flight Attitude

Location: Armistead, CA Accident Number: ANC26FA039
Date & Time: May 7, 2026, 10:55 Local Registration: N227TF
Aircraft: Cessna 182T Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional

On May 7, 2026, about 1055 pacific daylight time (PDT), a Cessna 182T airplane, N227TF, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Armistead, California. The flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

According to the flight school, Top Flight Aviation, the flight instructor, who was presumably seated in the right seat, and the pilot receiving instruction, who was presumably seated in the left seat, had planned to fly from the Corona Municipal Airport (AJO), Corona, California to the Inyokern Airport (IYK), Inyokern, California, then return to AJO before continuing on to Las Vegas, Nevada for an overnight stay. The purpose of the flight was for the pilot receiving instruction to build technically advanced aircraft (TAA) time in pursuit of a commercial pilot certificate. They had planned to accumulate 10 hours of TAA flight time over the course of two days.

According to archived automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data from OpsVue, FlightAware, and the Federal Aviation Administration, the airplane departed Inyokern Airport (IYK) about 1047. Data shows the airplane traveled southwest towards the El Paso Mountains for about 7 minutes before turning to fly up a steep, narrow canyon. The final available data point was located about a half mile northwest of the accident site at 1054. The altitude of the airplane at this data point was 3425 ft. The wreckage was located about 3771 ft in elevation on the side of a steep, rocky canyon about 1000 ft in width.

The aircraft impacted the rock-covered hillside in a left-wing-low flight attitude. All four corners of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The outboard portion of the left wing was bent upward and aft from impact damage. A large rock was embedded in the lower leading edge of the left wing, just inboard of the deformation. The fuselage, empennage, and inboard right wing were consumed by a post-impact fire. The wreckage came to rest with the engine facing downhill on a northeast heading of 028°. The engine and burned remnants of cockpit were inverted and facing downhill. The propeller assembly was still attached to the engine. One propeller blade came detached from the hub during impact and was found about 30 feet north-northwest of the main wreckage site. Additional small pieces of debris were strewn along a path to the north-northwest of the main wreckage.

The wreckage has been recovered to a secure facility for further examination.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

 

 

 

NTSB Says Jet That Hit Pole Flew Too Slow And Low

Captain Flying United Plane Into Newark While First Officer Monitored Instruments

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says in a preliminary report the captain of a United Airlines flight from Venice, Italy was flying too slow and too low before landing last month at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The report says United Airlines flight 169, a Boeing B767-424ER, N77066, struck a light pole on the New Jersey turnpike while on final approach to runway 29 at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Newark, N.J., and debris subsequently impacted a tractor-trailer traveling southbound on the New Jersey turnpike. The airplane landed and taxied to the gate without further incident. The 3 flight crew members, 8 cabin crew members and 220 passengers deplaned at the gate without any injury. The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained minor injuries. The damage to the airplane was substantial.

In its 11-page preliminary report of the May 3, 2026 accident, the NTSB said the flight from Venice was "normal until the descent." Investigators say the flight crew planned to land on runway 4R but the landing was changed to a different runway, and then changed again, to runway 29.

The captain stated that he turned off the autopilot and the auto-throttles at approximately 880 feet above mean sea level (MSL). He said that he “got fast” while he turned the airplane into the headwind and pulled the power levers back to compensate. The airplane shortly returned to a stable airspeed even though the wind gusts were producing “moderate turbulence.” The captain stated he heard the first officer call out “airspeed slow” while on short final (inside a half-mile). The captain mentioned that he did not receive any windshear alerts and that he always felt that the airplane was in a safe position to land. He responded to the automated 500-foot callout with the statement “stable”.

At 500 feet, the first officer stated, they were on speed and on profile, and the captain was maintaining his planned profile of 3 red and 1 white on the precision approach path indicator (PAPI). Once again, the cockpit voice recorder did not capture any discussion of PAPI lights for runway 29 prior to landing. The display of two red lights and two white lights indicate to pilots that they are on the desired glide path.  Additionally, the captain, as the pilot flying, was looking outside the airplane, and the first officer as the pilot monitoring was “more committed to being inside the airplane, looking for trends.”

As they descended, the airspeed began to decay, and the first officer recalled that he stated, “hey you are slow,” followed moments later by, “you are still slow and a little low.” The co-pilot then looked back outside, and at that point recalled “I thought we were low”, however they were just about to touch down, and he didn’t process the information in time to get a go-around callout verbalized. The airplane landed, taxied to the gate, and all passengers and crew deplaned normally.

The captain stated that just before touchdown “he heard a thump”. The first officer recalled feeling a mild jolt as they neared the threshold. The relief officer stated that he heard an audible thump as they went over the airport boundary a second or two before landing. After the flight landed, the purser called the flight deck and said the aft flight attendants heard a loud bang just prior to landing.

The jet crossed over the turnpike at 19 feet above the ground. After parking at the gate, the plane was found to have three punctures on the fuselage. One of the tires on the landing gear had "slash marks."

The NTSB says that after the accident, United reminded its pilots landing at Newark to use the visual glideslope indicators next to the runway to ensure safe obstruction clearances. It emphasized that all approaches shall be conducted so that touchdown occurs 1500’ from the runway threshold, but not prior to 1000’ from the threshold, in accordance with their Flight Manual.

The report says the flight times for the 3 flight crew members were as follows: the captain had 2,724 hours in the B757 and B767 with 378 hours as captain. The first officer had 1,958 hours and the relief officer (for the international flight) had 853 hours in the B757 and B767. Total time with United: the captain had 16,385 hours with 5,205.5 as captain and 11,179.5 as first officer, the first office had 1,958 hours, and the relief officer had 1,075 hours.

NPR asked for comment about the NTSB report and whether the captain remains on flight status, a United spokesperson told NPR, "We don't have anything to share."

The final NTSB investigation is expected to be complete within a year.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

 

 

NTSB Final Report: Bell 407

Pilot Conducted A Good Deceleration Flare But Applied The Initial Collective Too Early Resulting In Rotor RPM Decay

Location: Jacksonville, Florida Accident Number: ERA26LA170
Date & Time: April 10, 2026, 20:22 Local Registration: N314JP
Aircraft: Bell 407 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Hard landing Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Public aircraft

Analysis: The pilot and flight instructor were conducting a helicopter training flight using night vision goggles. The training included multiple hovering and straight-in touchdown autorotation maneuvers. The flight instructor stated that during the last touchdown autorotation landing the approach was normal. He continued that the pilot conducted a good deceleration flare but applied the initial collective too early resulting in rotor rpm decay. The helicopter landed hard on the heel of the skids while applying aft cyclic. The main rotor blades contacted both vertical stabilizers and the tailboom resulting in substantial damage. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s improper recovery from a practice autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving the instruction.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov