# Incident 20260429005389I: Macfiggen Dale Harold LANCAIR ES, Sanford, FL, April 29, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 29, 2026, 10:24 local time
- Place: Sanford, FL
- Airport: Sanford
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 28.8228° N, 81.2633° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SANFORD (FL55), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.8228&lon=-81.2633&mi=10
- Aircraft: N725EM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N725EM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Macfiggen Dale Harold LANCAIR ES (registry code 05622XC, https://openairdocs.org/model/macfiggen-dale-harold-lancair-es) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-550-N (registry code 17215, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MACFIGGEN DALE HAROLD LANCAIR ES
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO-550-N
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 30,150 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260429005389I

## Narrative

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

ORLANDO FSDO WAS NOTIFIED AN ENGINE COWLING "DEPARTED" THE AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF IN SANFORD, FL (SFB) ON 4/29/2026 AT 1024 EDT. AIRCRAFT RETURNED AND LANDED IMMEDIATELY WITH NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT OTHER THAN "UPPER" ENGINE COWLING AND WAS RECOVERED BY AIRPORT "OPS" ON AIRPORT PROPERTY. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE (2) COWLING PINS WERE INSTALLED BUT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED PROPERLY AS THEY ARE "FED THRU" THE LOWER FIXED-COWLING HINGE'S. THE PILOT ADVISED HE PERFORMED A PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION AND VERIFIED THE PINS WERE INSTALLED. I VERBALLY COUNSELED THE PILOT TO CONFIRM THE "PINS' ARE INSTALLED CORRECTLY AND SHOULD BE "SNUG" TO THE TOUCH AS WELL AS VISUALLY INSPECTED. I ALSO COUNSELED THE MECHANIC ABOUT THE "COWLING PIN'S" INSTALLATION AND THE CHALLENGE WHEN INSTALLING AND FEEDING THRU THE LOWER HINGES "BLINDLY". THIS IS A KNOWN ANOMALY DESIGN WITH THE "PINS" INSTALLED BLINDLY ON THIS AIRCRAFT.

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.

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