- Date
- March 19, 2026, 17:00 local (Mar 20, 2026, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Young, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9111Zlin Aviation Sro Savage CUB-S
- Defining event
- Landing: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 1, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA Scottsdale FSDO
- FAA report
- 20260319005789I
- Case key
- 202684
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 failure to maintain adequate clearance from trees during landing.
Findings · 4
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
During a cross-country flight, the pilot chose to land the airplane in an unimproved grassy meadow located in mountainous terrain. The pilot conducted a low approach to visually assess the landing area before the landing attempt. The pilot stated that the airplane touched down with a higher-than-anticipated ground speed, and began to drift left during the landing rollout. The airplane subsequently impacted a juniper tree and ground looped to the left, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported no pre-accident mechanical failures or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9111
- Reported as
- Zlin Aviation Sro Savage CUB-S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 260
- Built
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 349
- Engine
- Titan IO-340, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bnb Industries LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2026 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Destination
- SOW · Show Low, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Mountain meadow
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2024
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 830 in this make and model · 1,000 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Temperature
- 85 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 1, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9111 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.