- Date
- August 8, 2025, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rangeley, ME
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N89351Cessna 140
- Defining event
- Landing: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 20, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250808011459A
- Case key
- 200804
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 of the airplane during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and subsequent nose over.
Findings · 2
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 solo student pilot stated that while landing, the airplane bounced hard upon touchdown. After the bounce, the airplane veered off the side of the runway into the grass. The pilot tried to gain altitude but was unable, so he "cut" the engine. The airplane hit a bump and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, forward fuselage, tail and engine mount. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N89351
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 8379
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Other
- Airport
- 8B0 · Stephen A Bean Muni, runway 32, 4,299 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 28
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.29 inHg
- Observed at
- BML, 33 nm away
- METAR
- KBML 081352Z AUTO 00000KT 7SM CLR 24/17 A3029 RMK AO2 SLP255 T02390167 $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 20, 2025, 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.