- Date
- July 22, 2026, 11:29 local (18:29 UTC)
- Place
- Cougar, WA · Yale Lake
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N42SKCzech Aircraft Works Mermaid Skeeter 2
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20260722011099A
- Case key
- 203456
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 July 22, 2026, about 1129 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur built Czech Aircraft Works Mermaid Skeeter 2 airplane, N42SK, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cougar, Washington. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A review of a video provided by a witness showed the airplane at a distance while flying at a low altitude, in a right banking turn. The airplane subsequently began to descend while in a right bank and impacted the water of Yale Lake. The airplane remained partially above water surface for an unspecified time before it ultimately became submerged. Recovery of the wreckage is currently pending.
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
- N42SK
- Reported as
- Czech Aircraft Works Mermaid Skeeter 2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Built
- 2013
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Departed
- WA81 · Vancouver, WA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.86 inHg
- Observed at
- KSPB, 28 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KSPB 221753Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 29/18 A2986 RMK AO2 SLP110 T02940178 10294 20189 58009=
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.