# Incident 20260121000299I: Taylorcraft BC12-D, Norridgewock, ME, January 21, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 21, 2026, 16:15 local time
- Place: Norridgewock, ME
- Airport: Central Maine Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.7155° N, 69.8665° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CENTRAL MAINE/NORRIDGEWOCK (OWK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7155&lon=-69.8665&mi=10
- Aircraft: N96548, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N96548) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Taylorcraft BC12-D (registry code 8850316, https://openairdocs.org/model/taylorcraft-bc12-d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 527 total, 162 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260121000299I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON JANUARY 21, 2026, AT 1615 LOCAL TIME, A TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D DEPARTED CENTRAL MAINE REGIONAL AIRPORT (NORRIDGEWOCK, ME) ON SKIS FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT TO MOOSEHEAD LAKE. THE PILOT CONDUCTED A LOW APPROACH AND INITIATED LANDING ON THE FROZEN SURFACE OF MOOSEHEAD LAKE. DURING TOUCHDOWN, THE FROZEN SURFACE BEGAN SHIFTING, PROMPTING THE PILOT TO ABORT THE LANDING. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE PILOT OBSERVED THE RIGHT SKI HAD ROTATED DOWNWARD APPROXIMATELY 45–90 DEGREES.

THE PILOT RETURNED TO CENTRAL MAINE REGIONAL AIRPORT AND COORDINATED WITH GROUND PERSONNEL FOR GUIDANCE ON LANDING WITH THE SKI MISALIGNED. A LANDING WAS ATTEMPTED NEAR A SNOWBANK TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF NOSE-OVER. DURING THE LANDING ROLL, THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED THE SNOWBANK, RESULTING IN A FORWARD TILT FOLLOWED BY A ROLL TO THE RIGHT.

POST-INCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE NOSE SECTION, RIGHT SIDE OF THE COWLING, BOTH SKIS, AND LANDING GEAR STRUTS. BOTH SKIS APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY INSTALLED. SUBSEQUENT INSPECTION DETERMINED THAT THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE AIRCRAFT’S SKIS, IDENTIFIED AS FEDERAL 1500A. THE SKIS HAD BEEN INSTALLED BY THE PILOT UNDER HIS PRIVATE PILOT PRIVILEGES IN ACCORDANCE WITH 14 CFR APPENDIX A TO PART 43(C)(18).

NO INJURIES OCCURRED TO THE PILOT OR THE SOLE PASSENGER. WEATHER AT THE TIME WAS VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WITH LIGHT WINDS. THE EVENT WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN INCIDENT UNDER FAA CRITERIA.

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.