- Date
- February 19, 2026, 17:29 local (23:29 UTC)
- Place
- Pottsboro, TX · On turf runway at Donna Field Airport
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2EQVans RV8
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- 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/FSDO
- Case key
- 202466
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 control during the landing roll with a crosswind.
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 while on final approach to runway 36, he observed that the wind was gusty and out of the west. He stated that his tailwheel airplane touched down normally on the grass runway and during the rollout on the main wheels, the tail of the airplane pitched up suddenly. The pilot moved the elevator to the full down aft position; however, the nose of the airplane continued to pitch forward. The airplane flipped over and came to rest upside down. The right wing, vertical stabilizer, and rudder sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The grass airstrip did not have weather reporting facilities; however, an airport about 7 nm southeast reported the wind to be 280° at 10 kts.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2EQ
- Reported as
- Vans RV8
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 83177
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 838
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-M1B, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 1, 2025
- Departed
- T20 · Gonzales, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 33TE · Donna Fld, runway 36, 2,322 × 50 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2024
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 1,613 total · 827 in this make and model · 1,554 as pilot in command · 5.7 in the last 90 days · 5.2 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.71 inHg
- Observed at
- GYI, 7 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KGYI 192255Z 28010KT 10SM CLR 19/M02 A2971
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 MB in all.