Cessna R182 accident near Pace, Florida, June 23, 2025
On June 23, 2025 at about 2:35 pm local time, a 1981 Cessna R182, registered N262AL, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Pace, Florida (J-22 Ranch airport). It was a public-use flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 23, 2025 · about 2:35 pm local time
- Place
- Pace, Florida · J-22 Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cessna R182, built 1981 · all R182s on the register
- Registration
- N262AL · registry record · serial R18201836
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On June 23, 2025, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Cessna R182 airplane, N262AL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Milton, Florida. The airline transport pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The pilot departed from Dothan Regional Airport (DHN) Dothan, Alabama and flew about 95 nautical miles before landing at J-22 Ranch Airport (16FL) Milton, Florida. At 16FL, the pilot planned to have a new emergency locator transmitter battery installed. About 90 minutes after arriving, the maintenance was completed, and the pilot departed for the flight back to DHN. The pilot reported that the preflight checks and runup were normal and that he attempted a short field takeoff from runway 36, a 2,895-turf runway. After the takeoff roll and rotation, the pilot began the initial climb, and retracted the landing gear. The airplane was still about 75 ft over the runway, when the engine rapidly started losing power. The pilot described that the engine retained partial power, but that it was not enough to maintain altitude. The pilot attempted to troubleshoot, but due to the low height above ground level, he had just enough time to check the throttle and mixture, and was unable to regain full power. The pilot subsequently landed off the departure end of the runway and slightly east of the centerline. During the final approach, he held the nose up and landed hard on the level terrain. The impact collapsed the right main landing gear, and the airplane skidded to a stop resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. During the accident sequence, the right wingtip was crushed upwards and there was buckling to the wings and fuselage. The 3-blade metal propeller blades were slightly curled on the outer 12-inches of the blades. The pilot reported that there were 65 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel on board at takeoff. The airplane was retained for further examination.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (partial) during initial climb defining event
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown)
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,966.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 23, 2025; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Operator: Dale County Sheriffs Office
The flight
- Runway 18/3, 2,895 ft by 227 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA25LA235.