# Accident 20250721010469A: Aero Vodochody L-39, Granite Falls, MN, July 21, 2025 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 21, 2025, 17:30 local time - Place: Granite Falls, MN - Airport: Granite Falls Municipal/Lenzen-Roe- - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 44.7613° N, 95.5612° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7613&lon=-95.5612&mi=10 - Aircraft: N339L, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N339L) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Aero Vodochody L-39 (registry code 05603SJ, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-vodochody-l-39) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Ivchenko AI-25TL (registry code 34703, https://openairdocs.org/engine/ivchenko-ai-25tl) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AERO VODOCHODY L-39 - Reported engine: IVCHENKO AI-25TL - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor - Pilot flight hours: 15,500 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN25FA269](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA269) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250721010469A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE PIC/FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WAS TRAINING THE STUDENT PILOT TO OBTAIN AN L-39 RATING, BEGINNING WITH GROUND INSTRUCTION THE DAY BEFORE FLIGHT. FURTHER GROUND TRAINING WAS PROVIDED THE NEXT DAY FOLLOWED BY THREE TRAINING FLIGHTS WITH AN AIR SHOW AS THE FINAL DESTINATION. THE PIC FLEW FROM THE FRONT SEAT AND THE STUDENT PILOT FROM THE REAR SEAT. THE PIC DID NOT NOTE ANY DISCREPANCIES WITH THE AIRCRAFT ON THE FIRST AND SECOND FLIGHTS. ON THE THIRD FLIGHT OF THE DAY, THE PIC NOTED A NORMAL TAKEOFF. WHILE PASSING APPROXIMATELY FL200 IN A NORMAL CLIMB TO FL270, A BURNING ODOR WAS DETECTED BY BOTH PILOTS. BOTH PILOTS WERE USING THE AIRCRAFT’S OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM VIA FACE MASKS. WHILE BOTH PILOTS WERE DISCUSSING THE POSSIBLE SOURCE OF THE BURNING ODOR, THERE WAS A LARGE VIBRATION AND SHUDDER THROUGHOUT THE AIRCRAFT, WHICH WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A METAL-ON-METAL GRINDING SOUND AND LOSS OF THRUST. THE PIC PITCHED THE AIRCRAFT FOR BEST-GLIDE SPEED AND BEGAN THE PROCESS FOR AN ENGINE RESTART. NO ENGINE RESTART ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND THE AIRCRAFT REMAINED WITHOUT THRUST. BETWEEN ONE OF THE ENGINE RESTART ATTEMPTS, THE PIC DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH ATC. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE VMC DOWN TO A 1,200-FOOT CEILING OF BROKEN TO OVERCAST; NO RUNWAYS WERE VISIBLE. THE PIC USED THE “NEAREST” FUNCTION ON THE GPS UNIT IN THE AIRCRAFT AND THE GPS UNIT IDENTIFIED THE NEAREST AIRPORT, INDICATED THE AIRPORT WAS REACHABLE WITH THE ALTITUDE REMAINING. AS THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED TOWARD THE AIRPORT, THE PIC NOTED SMOKE HAD ENTERED THE COCKPIT. IN THE DESCENT, THE STUDENT PILOT IDENTIFIED AN ODOR SMELLING LIKE JET FUEL. THE PIC DEPRESSURIZED THE AIRCRAFT, WHICH ALLOWED THE SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT TO DISSIPATE. THE PIC PERFORMED A CIRCUIT AROUND THE AIRPORT, DURING WHICH TIME THE RUNWAY WAS NOT VISIBLE. ON THE SECOND CIRCUIT, A PART OF THE OVERRUN OF THE RUNWAY WAS VISIBLE THROUGH A HOLE IN THE CLOUDS. UPON IDENTIFYING THE RUNWAY OVERRUN, THE PIC MADE A TURN IN ORDER TO ATTEMPT A FORCED LANDING. THE PIC THEN LOWERED THE LANDING GEAR. THE PIC FURTHER STATED THAT WHEN IT WAS CLEAR TO HIM THAT THE AIRCRAFT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GLIDE TO THE RUNWAY, THE FRONT-SEAT PILOT INSTRUCTED THE BACK-SEAT PILOT TO PREPARE TO EJECT. AFTER THE PIC LEVELED-OFF THE AIRCRAFT AND BROUGHT THE WINGS TO LEVEL, THE PIC DIRECTED THE STUDENT PILOT TO EJECT. THE PIC NOTED HE DID NOT HEAR THE EJECTION SYSTEM OF THE BACK SEAT FIRE. THE PIC AGAIN INSTRUCTED THE STUDENT PILOT TO EJECT. THE VERTICAL STABILIZER MADE CONTACT WITH A POWERLINE, LEAVING THE UPPER TIP OF THE STABILIZER ATTACHED TO THE POWERLINE. AS THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPROACHING THE BOTTOM OF THE EJECTION ENVELOPE, THE PIC ACTIVATED HIS EJECTION SEAT AND WAS EJECTED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE PIC’S EJECTED SEAT DRIFTED ACROSS THE HIGHWAY AS THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A DITCH BETWEEN RAILROAD TRACKS AND A HIGHWAY, APPROXIMATE 100 FEET SHORT OF THE HIGHWAY. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS FOUND DECEASED IN HIS SEAT, JUST OUTSIDE THE FUSELAGE. ONLY ONE OF THE TWO EJECTION EXPLOSIVE CHARGES HAD FIRE ON THE STUDENT PILOT’S SEAT. AN EXPLOSIVE ORDINANCE DISPOSAL TEAM LATER DISCHARGED THE REMAINING LIVE CHARGE AT A REMOTE LOCATION. AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE CONDUCTED BY THE NTSB AND FAA REVEALED SIGNIFICANT THERMAL DETERIORATION OF THE ENGINE TURBINES. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CEN25FA269](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA269), Jul 21, 2025: Aero Vodochody L-39C (N339L), Granite Falls, MN, substantial damage, 1 fatal, investigation ongoing From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.