# NTSB WPR26LA152: Just Highlander, N563JA, Great Falls, MT, April 8, 2026

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: April 8, 2026, 11:06 local (17:06 UTC)
- Place: Great Falls, MT
- Coordinates: 47.390038, -111.34191 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.3900&lon=-111.3419&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 202787
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR26LA152
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202787/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA152

## Preliminary report

On April 8, 2026, about 1106 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Just Aircraft Highlander, N563JA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Great Falls, Montana. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that after he departed Great Falls International Airport (GTF), Great Falls, Montana, he intended to land on a private grass surface airstrip about 5.5 nautical miles to the southwest. While on the final approach to the grass airstrip, he applied right rudder pedal to enter a left wing low slip to perform a steep approach along with reducing the throttle to idle to minimize the airspeed. The pilot stated that when he decreased the throttle to idle, the engine lost total power. He aligned the nose of the airplane with the runway heading at the threshold, but the airplane’s airspeed was too fast. The airplane touched down in the last 1/3rd of the airstrip with the control stick full aft and he applied the brakes. Ground scars revealed that the nose of the airplane contacted the turf surface and skidded about six ft before the airplane nosed over near the departure end of the airstrip, which extended to the edge of the Missouri river. A review of the airplane’s maintenance logs indicated that a condition inspection was completed on December 8, 2025, and a new SkyTrax propeller speed reduction unit and friction clutch upgrade was installed on January 18, 2026. The wreckage has been recovered to a secure facility for further examination.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Stoelting Wade B JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=05641Y5), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md)
- [Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Stoelting Wade B JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05641Y5), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N563JA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N563JA), registered now, S/N JA563-8-19, built 2023 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Just Aircraft Highlander
- Registry model: [Stoelting Wade B JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER](https://openairdocs.org/model/stoelting-wade-b-just-acft-highlander) (registry code 05641Y5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Yamaha APEX-998CC](https://openairdocs.org/engine/yamaha-apex-998cc) (registry code 80003, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: JA563-8-19
- Year built: 2023
- Airframe hours: 77.9
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection: Condition, December 8, 2025
- Departed: GTF, Great Falls, MT
- Airport: None, Pvt, runway 07, 950 × 50 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment: ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 4,000 ft overcast
- Temperature: 34 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observed at: KGTF, 5.6 nm away
- METAR: METAR KGTF 081653Z 28006KT 10SM OVC040 01/M05 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP235 T00111050

## 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 20260408004149A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260408004149A), Apr 8, 2026: Stoelting Wade B JUST ACFT HIGHLANDER, Great Falls, MT, Substantial damage. Everything was normal for runup, takeoff, and flight. When coming in to land my approach was steep. I had to forward slip to get down and then straightened…

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.

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