- Date
- July 26, 2026, 19:41 local (Jul 27, 2026, 00:41 UTC)
- Place
- Ephraim, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N573TBKitfox III
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Milwaukee FSDO
- Case key
- 203463
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On July 26, 2026, at 1941 central daylight time, an experimental Kitfox III airplane, N573TB, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Ephraim, Wisconsin. The private pilot and a passenger were uninjured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that he had flown the airplane for about an hour and was returning to Ephriam Airport, Ephraim, Wisconsin. During approach for landing on runway 14, the airplane engine suddenly lost total power. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a field about 3 miles east/northeast of the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was retained for further examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N573TB
- Reported as
- Kitfox III
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1016
- Built
- 2008
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- PIlot
- Airport
- 3D2 · Ephraim Airport
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at -40 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 17.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 3D2, 3 nm away
Other investigations on N573TB · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.