20250526006309A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Piper PA-18 · Vega, TX · May 26, 2025

Date: May 26, 2025 · 15:40 local
Place: Vega, TX
Airport: Oldham County Airport
Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N7175D
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN25LA188
Reported as: Piper PA-18
Reported engine: Continental C90 series
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 2
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,780 total440 in this make and model40 in the last 90 days

N7175DRegistered now · Piper PA-18S/N 18-5634 · Built 1957 Airframe modelPiper PA-18 Engine modelContinental C90 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

On may 26, 2025, at 1540 CDT, a Piper PA-18 impacted terrain while attempting to land and incurred substantial damage. The aircraft was being operated on a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from the Oldham County Airport, Vega, TX on may 26, 2025, at 1515 CDT.

As the FAA filed it

ON MAY 26, 2025, AT 1540 CDT, A PIPER PA-18 IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND AND INCURRED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND THE PILOT AND PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE OLDHAM COUNTY AIRPORT, VEGA, TX ON MAY 26, 2025, AT 1515 CDT.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN25LA188Accident · Minor injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal reportVega, TXThe airplane’s inadvertent encounter with a localized low boundary layer, which caused a wind shift, and a gusting tailwind during final approach, that resulted in the pilot deciding to impact a wind cone and a subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing was…May 26, 2025 · Substantial damage