- Date
- September 2, 2025, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Caro, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N26RJPiper PA-30
- Defining event
- Landing: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 17, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250902012639A
- Case key
- 200937
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 failure to remove the tow bar before flight.
Findings · 2
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
After departure, the pilot noticed the landing gear position indicator light did not show that the landing gear was retracted and the circuit breaker was tripped. He cycled the circuit breaker a few times and it kept tripping. The pilot then diverted to an airport where he normally had maintenance performed on his airplane. While landing, the airplane veered sharply to the right and went through a ditch which resulted in substantial damage to the empennage. After the accident, it was discovered the pilot had forgotten to remove the tow bar he used to pull the airplane out of the hangar. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N26RJ
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-1886
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 3,785
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 2, 2024
- Departed
- KACB · Bellaire, MI
- Destination
- KCFS · Caro, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CFS · Tuscola Area, runway 06, 4,302 × 65 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 13, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1,508.9 total · 501.9 in this make and model · 1,415.4 as pilot in command · 39.4 in the last 90 days · 22.9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.08 inHg
- Observed at
- KCFS
- METAR
- METAR KCFS 021755Z AUTO VRB02KT 10SM OVC055 24/11 A3008 RMK AO2 10247 20104=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 81.3 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.