# NTSB ERA26LA148: Cessna 208, N9612B, North Canton, OH, March 13, 2026 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: March 13, 2026, 13:55 local (17:55 UTC) - Place: North Canton, OH - Coordinates: 40.920062, -81.435711 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.9201&lon=-81.4357&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Taxi-into takeoff position: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 7, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 202648 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA26LA148 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202648/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA148 ## Probable cause The flight instructor’s decision to conduct a training flight in strong, gusting crosswinds, which resulted in the airplane’s right wing impacting the ground during taxi. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Wind: high wind](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034055): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Decision related to condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034055/cases.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 112 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034055/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 18 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Taxi-into takeoff position: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 319 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor had planned a flight to perform practice instrument approaches at two nearby airports, and due to the wind conditions, the flight instructor had planned that the approaches would terminate as low approaches before returning to the departure airport to land. The flight instructor reported that while taxiing onto the runway for departure, he felt the wind push the airplane, which began to skid. While being pushed in the skid, the left main landing gear was lifted and the right wing impacted the ground resulting in substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A review of surface weather observations for around the time of the accident showed that the wind velocity was about 31 knots, with gusts up to 48 knots. While on the taxiway, the airplane would have been experiencing a direct right crosswind changing to a right quartering headwind as the airplane turned onto the runway. The crosswind gusts the airplane likely experienced were more than twice the maximum demonstrated crosswind component of 20 knots listed in the airplane’s Pilot Operating Handbook. When asked how the accident could have been prevented, the flight instructor stated that the operator should implement maximum wind gust speeds for training flights. Had such limitations been in place at the time of the accident, it is possible that they would have aided the flight instructor in detecting the hazard those extreme wind conditions represented. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9612B](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9612B), registered now, S/N 208B0136, built 1988 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 208 (B) - Registry model: [Cessna 208B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-208b) (registry code 2073701) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PT6A series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (registry code 52034, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 208B0136 - Year built: 1988 - Airframe hours: 25375.3 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A 675 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Castle Aviation, doing business as Castle Aviation - Registered owner: Avion Capital Corp - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, February 17, 2026, 73.7 hours before - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: CAK, Akron-Canton Rgnl, runway 23, 8,204 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 63; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 25, 2026; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 18,006 total, 7,412 in this make and model, 17,882 as pilot in command, 86.6 in the last 90 days, 31.1 in the last 30 days - Pilot; age 25; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 24, 2025; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,118.9 total, 8.9 in this make and model, 754.6 as pilot in command, 121.7 in the last 90 days, 33.6 in the last 30 days, 4.3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 31 knots, gusting 48 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 29.49 inHg - Turbulence: Unknown - Observed at: CAK - METAR: METAR KCAK 131751Z 23031G48KT 10SM FEW050 FEW090 11/M03 A2949 RMK AO2 PK WND 23048/1749 SLP993 T01111028 10117 20017 58038 ## 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 20260313001589A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260313001589A), Mar 13, 2026: Cessna 208B, North Canton, OH, Substantial damage. Aircraft was cleared for takeoff RWY23 while holding short of the ruway on taxiway e. the pilot then advised cak tower they needed a minute for an engine… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.