- Date
- May 12, 2026, 19:40 local (May 13, 2026, 02:40 UTC)
- Place
- Sandpoint, ID
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N953CNCraig Ellison Bearhawk Four
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20260512005569A
- Case key
- 202984
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On May 12, 2026, about 1940 Pacific daylight time (PDT), an experimental amateur-built Bearhawk Four airplane, N953CN, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Olmstead Sky Ranch in Sandpoint, Idaho. The pilot was uninjured, and the passenger sustained a minor injury. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were landing at the conclusion of the second test flight of the tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot reported that after the airplane touched down he noticed the right brake seemed to drag, and the airplane deviated progressively harder to the right. The pilot applied rudder and left brake inputs to compensate. As the airplane slowed, it nosed over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the rudder, wings, and wing strut. The right brake remained locked after the airplane came to rest, and during the recovery of the airplane from the runway. The airplane was 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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N953CN
- Reported as
- Craig Ellison Bearhawk Four
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 443-87/88
- Built
- 2026
- Airframe hours
- 1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 21, 2026 · 1 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- ID25 · Olmstead Sky Ranch, runway 16/34, 3,000 × 50 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 60° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- KSZT, 3 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KSZT 130235Z AUTO 06007KT 10SM CLR 22/02 A2984 RMK AO2
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.