WPR26LA302

On August 9, 2026, at 1420 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N247JP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Salmon, Idaho. The pilot and eight passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. The pilot reported that, after an uneventful flight from the departure airport, he joined the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 17. While turning onto the base leg, he extended the wing flaps in preparation for landing and subsequently heard a loud “pop.” Immediately thereafter, the airplane made an aggressive, uncommanded roll to the left and banked to about 45°. The pilot attempted to regain lateral control by applying right aileron. He moved the control yoke to the full right aileron position and adjusted the aileron trim to the full right setting. The airplane touched down normally, and the pilot taxied it to the ramp without further incident. Following the landing, a company mechanic examined the flight control systems and found substantial damage to the left wing spar. A preliminary examination identified a loose flap bolt that allowed the lower portion of the aft bellcrank to move freely. The aft bellcrank was designed to attach to the airplane with a bolt secured to an anchor nut assembly on its lower surface (see figure 1). The hardware will be retained for further examination. Figure 1: Diagram showing the location of the loose bolt