WPR26LA093

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 500 · Great Falls, MT · January 19, 2026

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
January 19, 2026, 13:03 local (20:03 UTC)
Place
Great Falls, MT
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
C-GJVKCessna 500
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
FAA - Helena FSDO
Case key
202376

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On January 19, 2026, about 1303 mountain standard time, a Cessna 500 airplane, C-GJVK, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Great Falls International Airport (GTF), Great Falls, Montana. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations personal flight. The pilot reported that during the approach he extended the landing gear and received an unsafe indication for the left main landing gear while the nose gear and right main landing gear indicated down and locked. He then moved the landing gear lever slightly and received a down and locked indication for the left main landing gear. All three landing gear down and locked lights were illuminated for the remainer of the approach. The landing was smooth and as the airplane slowed to about 30 knots, the pilot felt the left wing begin to lower and the left wing and flap then contacted the runway. The airplane veered slightly to the left and came to rest with the left wing over the grass and with the left main landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane’s left wing sustained substantial damage. The airplane was recovered and retained for further examination.

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.

Landing gear collapseLanding-landing rollAll aircraft: 1,787 casesDefining event

Aircraft

Registration
C-GJVK
Reported as
Cessna 500 (CITATION)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
500-103
Built
1973
Airframe hours
5,337.1
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Dale Kirkwood
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Continuous airworthiness · July 14, 2025
Departed
IDA · Idaho Falls, ID
Destination
GTF · Great Falls, MT
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
GTF · Great Falls Intl, runway 03/21, 10,502 × 150 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Handheld GPS, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
240° at 16 knots, gusting 21
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
45 °F, dew point 12 °F
Altimeter
30.17 inHg
Observed at
KGTF, 1 nm away
METAR
METAR KGTF 191953Z 24016G21KT 10SM CLR 07/M11 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP254 T00671106 $=