- Date
- July 5, 2026, 07:25 local (13:25 UTC)
- Place
- Greenleaf, ID
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N53953Fairchild M-62A
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report October 8, 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
- FAA report
- 20260705009419A
- Case key
- 203358
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 proper airspeed during approach and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.
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
According to the pilot, during approach to the airport, he noted that the airplane felt “heavy and sluggish.” The pilot realized the airplane was nearing its stall speed and low on its glidepath, and he attempted to correct by adding engine power and raising the nose; however, the airplane subsequently stalled and impacted terrain short of the runway. As a result, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the pilot received serious injuries. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53953
- Reported as
- Fairchild M-62A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T41-1342
- Built
- 1942
- Engine
- Ranger L440-1, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 1, 2025 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- ID90 · Greenleaf, ID
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- ID90 · Greenleaf Air Ranch, runway 32, 2,392 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, 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
- 77
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 5, 2026
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 6,353 total · 102 in this make and model · 6,221 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KMAN, 14 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KMAN 051335Z AUTO 31006KT 10SM CLR 21/03 A2998 RMK A01
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 8, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.8 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 N53953 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.