# NTSB ERA26FA110: Pipistrel Taurus 503, N414HG, Boynton Beach, FL, February 9, 2026

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: February 9, 2026, 15:14 local (20:14 UTC)
- Place: Boynton Beach, FL
- Coordinates: 26.547533, -80.216797
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.5475&lon=-80.2168&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341)
- Highest injury: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 1 serious
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: Textron Aviation, FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 202421
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA26FA110
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202421/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26FA110

## Preliminary report

On February 9, 2026, about 1514 eastern standard time, a Pipistrel Taurus 503 motorglider, N414HG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Willis Gliderport (FA44), Boynton Beach, Florida. The pilot was seriously injured. The motorglider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Video with audio from a Ring camera captured the motorglider taxiing to the west end of the gliderport where it stopped facing east with the engine running for about 2 minutes and 10 seconds. The audio captured the sound of the engine rpm increasing followed by the motorglider beginning the takeoff roll. The video captured the motorglider rotating about 570 ft down the runway, the motorglider exited the camera’s field of view but the audio continued to record. A pilot rated witness located inside his residence on the north side of the gliderport about 1,900 ft east of the western edge of the runway reported hearing the motorglider depart. When the motorglider was past his house he heard the engine quit. He went outside and observed it flying in a westerly direction about 350 ft south of the runway at an altitude of between 200 and 300 ft. He noted the engine was extended but was not running. The motorglider continued to the west a “few hundred feet” before banking to the right; the right wing dropped, and the glider descended in a nose-low attitude while rotating to the right. The motorglider impacted the ground in a near vertical position and fell back, coming to rest upright. Postaccident examination of the motorglider which was equipped with an airframe rescue parachute revealed it was not deployed and a safety pin was in the emergency parachute release handle. The wreckage was retained for further examination.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Pipistrel TAURUS 503, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=056255F), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)
- [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241); cases with it: [Pipistrel TAURUS 503, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=056255F), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md)
- [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Pipistrel TAURUS 503, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=056255F), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N414HG](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N414HG), registered now, S/N 047 T 503, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPISTREL TAURUS 503 (NO SERIES)
- Registry model: [Pipistrel TAURUS 503](https://openairdocs.org/model/pipistrel-taurus-503) (registry code 056255F) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 503ULDCDI](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-503uldcdi) (registry code 55568, 2 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 047 T 503
- Year built: 2009
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport: FA44, Willis Gliderport, runway 9, 3,600 × 150 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment: ADS-B, Airframe parachute

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 110° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observed at: KPBI, 10 nm away
- METAR: METAR KPBI 091953Z 11011KT 10SM SCT047 23/11 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP234 T02330111 $

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20260209002799A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260209002799A), Feb 9, 2026: Pipistrel TAURUS 503, Boyton Beach, FL, Destroyed. On February 9, 2026, about 1514 eastern standard time, a Pipistrel taurus 503 motorglider, [privacy data omitted], was substantially damaged when it was…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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