- Date
- January 19, 2026, 09:33 local (17:33 UTC)
- Place
- Lemmon Valley-Golden Valley, NV
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N775DZKitfox Series 7
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing area overshoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 2, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 202327
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 inability to maintain clearance from terrain during a go-around.
Findings · 3
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 pilot reported that he had performed a stop-and-go in a dirt clearing with a slight upslope. The pilot attempted to land in the clearing a second time, but during the landing flare, the pilot realized that he was going to land about 50 to 100 ft past his previous landing point and observed large sticks and a dirt mound in the available landing area ahead of the airplane. The pilot said that he initiated a go-around by applying full power and noted that he did not have the performance while in the low energy state. Subsequently, the landing gear briefly contacted the ground and the left wing dropped before the airplane impacted terrain. During the accident sequence, the left wing, left flaperon, and fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N775DZ
- Reported as
- Kitfox Series 7
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1001
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 1,212.1
- Engine
- Rotax 912 ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 1, 2025
- Departed
- RTS · Reno, NV
- Airport
- NONE · Hillside
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS
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
- 25
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Military, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 22, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 354 total · 50 in this make and model · 67 as pilot in command · 113 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.36 inHg
- Observed at
- KRNO, 12 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KRNO 191755Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 02/M04 A3036 RMK AO2 SLP289 T00221044 10028 21039 51013
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 2, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.1 MB in all.