- Date
- November 1, 2025, 09:35 local (14:35 UTC)
- Place
- Ponca City, OK
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9682CDouglas B-26B
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 19, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA- OKC FSDO
- FAA report
- 20251101016829A
- Case key
- 201979
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
Failure of the nose landing gear link which resulted in a loss of directional.
Findings · 3
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 pilot reported that on the takeoff roll, he detected a vibration that he initially attributed to nosewheel shimmy. The vibration became extreme within a few seconds, and the pilot attempted to abort the takeoff by reducing the engine throttles. During the deceleration, the airplane went to the right which the pilot was unable to correct using differential braking. The airplane went off of the paved runway surface and the nose landing gear collapsed forward. Postaccident inspection revealed that the nose landing gear upper retract link assembly had fractured which allowed the nose landing gear to partially collapse in the forward direction. The engine propellers contacted the ground during the event and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9682C
- Reported as
- Douglas B-26B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4139230
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 1,989
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney R-2800-79, 2,000 horsepower, reciprocatingPratt & Whitney R-2800-27, 2,000 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum
- Registered owner
- American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Limited (Special)
- Last inspection
- AAIP · February 15, 2024
- Destination
- WDG · Enid, OK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- PNC · Ponca City Rgnl, runway 17/35, 7,201 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B, 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 27, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 8,615 total · 175 in this make and model · 7,223 as pilot in command · 81 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 26, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 8,000 total · 1 in this make and model · 7,800 as pilot in command · 72 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KPNC
- METAR
- METAR KPNC 011553Z AUTO 01008KT 10SM SCT100 11/01 A3025 RMK AO2 SLP242 T01060006=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.5 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.