- Date
- June 13, 2025, 19:30 local (Jun 14, 2025, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Westplains, CO
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N682RSCessna 650
- Defining event
- Enroute: Other weather encounter
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 16, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250613016649A
- Case key
- 200896
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper judgment to circumnavigate convective activity which resulted in extensive hail damage to the airplane.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The airline transport pilot, who was also a flight instructor, stated that the accident flight, with a commercial pilot in the right seat receiving flight instruction, was a personal flight with one passenger aboard. While en route to the destination airport, the pilot attempted to fly over a line of convective weather. While at flight level (FL) 410 and at 0.75 Mach, the airplane encountered “heavy” turbulence and hail. The pilot descended to FL 350 and slowed the airplane to 0.68 Mach, then flew about 495 nautical miles and landed at the planned destination airport, rather than performing an immediate landing at the nearest suitable airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, empennage, and windshield. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by having diverted about 80 to 100 miles north of the weather. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane that that would have precluded normal airplane operation. About three months after the accident, the damaged airplane was discovered after an anonymous complaint was made of an unreported airplane accident. The airplane was located at the airplane owner’s hangar at the destination airport where it was undergoing repairs. The airplane make and model was not certified for single pilot operations and required two pilots. The commercial pilot did not hold a type rating for the airplane make and model nor met regulatory requirements to act as second-in-command for the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N682RS
- Reported as
- Cessna 650
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 650-7001
- Built
- 1992
- Airframe hours
- 9,029.2
- Engines
- Airesearch TFE 731-42-25, 3,500 lbs thrust, turbo jetAiresearch TFE 731-42-25, 3,500 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aircraft Resource Center, Inc
- Registered owner
- Aircraft Resource Center, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · May 1, 2025
- Departed
- LAS · Las Vegas, NV
- Destination
- LVN · Lakeville, MN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- LVN
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Data recorder, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 17, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 13,400 total · 126 in this make and model · 7,100 as pilot in command · 206 in the last 90 days · 88 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 4, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,172.8 total · 7.8 in this make and model · 865.9 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 250° at 19 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Turbulence
- Severe
- Observed at
- SNY, 10 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KSNY 140153Z AUTO 25019G31KT 9SM -TSRA FEW034 SCT046 19/12 A2995 RMK AO2 PK WND 26031/0153 LTG DSNT ALQDS RAB51 TSB24 SLP099 P0000 T01940117=
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 13.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.