ANC26FA039

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. Figure 1 ADS-B Flight Path 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. Figure 2 Image of accident site (NTSB Photo) 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.