WPR26FA294

On August 7, 2026, about 1549 mountain daylight time, a Textron Aviation Inc. 172S, N1842E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Provo, Utah. The flight instructor sustained serious injuries, and the pilot undergoing instruction was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight was operated by ATP Flight School under the callsign Career Track (CXK) 138 and was intended to provide preparation for the pilot undergoing instruction’s upcoming instrument checkride. The airplane was scheduled to depart for the practice area south of the airport via the “Golf Course” departure, a route that would have initially taken the airplane east over Provo Bay. Preliminary air traffic control audio indicated that multiple aircraft operating in the vicinity of Provo Municipal Airport (PVU) in the period before the accident reported moderate to severe turbulence. One of those airplanes, which was also operated by ATP, reported descent rates exceeding 1,000 ft per minute while approaching Bird Island, a reporting point in Utah Lake about 5 miles southwest of the airport. At about 1546, the accident airplane was cleared for takeoff from runway 18. ADS-B data showed that the airplane began a climbing left turn to the southeast with a groundspeed that varied between 68 and 75 knots. A few seconds later, the airplane began a rapid descent, accelerating to a groundspeed of about 96 knots before the last ADS-B target was recorded approximately 160 ft above the water, and 350 ft short of the accident site. Figure 1 – ADS-B track Security camera footage from multiple buildings located on the east side of the airport, facing west and south-southwest, showed several areas of tall dust formations moving through the surface area along and south of the airport during the time preceding the accident. One dust formation appeared to move across the departure end of runway 18 as the airplane entered the video frame in the upper-right portion of one of the cameras. A few seconds later, the airplane began to descend, and a splash was observed about 30 seconds later as the airplane impacted the water. The airplane came to rest in marshland within Provo Bay, about 6,000 ft south-southeast of the departure end of runway 18. The main wreckage was semi-submerged in about 18 inches of water and resting on soft mud. The debris field extended about 100 ft in length. The first identified point of impact was the nose landing gear assembly, which had separated from the airframe. The remaining wreckage was concentrated to the east of that location. The forward cabin section, engine, and both wings were submerged, with a section of a propeller blade tip visible above the water. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.