Piper PA-28-181 accident near Inverness Highlands South, Florida, August 7, 2025
On August 7, 2025 at about 4:55 pm local time, a 2022 Piper PA-28-181, registered N686JA, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi (from runway) near Inverness Highlands South, Florida (Inverness airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s inadequate monitoring of the airplane during taxi which resulted in collision with a sign.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 2025 · about 4:55 pm local time
- Place
- Inverness Highlands South, Florida · Inverness · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181, built 2022 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N686JA · registry record · serial 28020086
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he was practicing touch-and-go landings at different airports. After his second landing at the airport, he was taxing back to the runway for departure to a different airport. During the taxi, he was looking down at his tablet computer, loading in a new route, when the airplane ran off the paved surface and into a sign. The collision resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during taxi (from runway) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land
- Flight time: 80.4 hours in all; 18.7 in this make and model; 18.7 in the last 90 days; 4.7 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 30, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,025 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 29, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-B4 (piston); 2,025 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: V04 Apopka FL at 4:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 01, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 12:55 pm from INF, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KINF 071655Z AUTO 14003KT 7SM 33/23 A3005 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on November 20, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N686JA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.