- Date
- February 13, 2026, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- De Smet, SD · Airplane stopped 20 yards from centerline in ditch
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5071KBellanca 8GCBC
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20260213001209A
- Case key
- 202444
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 landing.
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 stated that while landing the tailwheel equipped airplane, the tailwheel began shaking, and he lost directional control. The airplane veered off the runway and came to rest in a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and that he should have had more back pressure on the elevator controls to prevent the tailwheel from shaking.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5071K
- Reported as
- Bellanca 8GCBC (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 348-80
- Built
- 1980
- Airframe hours
- 2,346.49
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360 C1E, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sky View LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 21, 2025 · 10.1 hours before
- Departed
- SD83 · Private Strip, SD
- Destination
- 6E5 · De Smet, SD
- Airport
- 6E5 · Wilder, runway 34, 3,400 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- February 10, 2026
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 647.9 total · 184.4 in this make and model · 647.9 as pilot in command · 2.1 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KHON, 29 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KHON 132155Z AUTO 16003KT 10SM CLR 15/M07 A2995 RMK AO2 SLP151 T01501067
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 30, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.