- Date
- November 26, 2025, 10:57 local (17:57 UTC)
- Place
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4588ZPiper PA-22-108
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- 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
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20251126019099A
- Case key
- 202076
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 maintain directional control during the landing.
Findings · 5
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 during he felt a gust of wind from the left that lifted the left wing. The pilot stated that he overcorrected, the airplane became unstable, and he decided to perform a go-around. After the pilot initiated the go-around, the airplane veered to the right of the runway, struck a runway distance remaining sign, and then became airborne. The pilot reported that the elevator became jammed in a nose-up attitude after it struck the sign. The airplane reached an altitude of about 400 ft above ground level before the pilot regained control and returned to land without further incident. During the accident sequence, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing strut, elevator, and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had established better directional control before initiating the go-around.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4588Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-108
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-8097
- Built
- 1961
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235 CLB, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aerostyles LLC, doing business as N/A
- Registered owner
- Aerostyles LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LHX · La Junta, CO
- Destination
- COS · Colorado Springs, CO
- Airport
- COS · City Of Colorado Springs Muni, runway 17R/35L, 11,022 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Handheld GPS
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 27, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 345 total · 78 in this make and model · 222 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- October 26, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 430 total · 2 in this make and model · 336 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KCOS, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KCOS 261754Z 14003KT 10SM FEW090 FEW150 BKN200 03/M08 A3021 RMK AO2 SLP256 T00331083 10044 21044 56001 $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 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.