Piper PA-30 accident near Big Bear, California, February 24, 2026
On February 24, 2026 at about 2:00 am local time, a 1966 Piper PA-30, registered N811LE, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Big Bear, California (Big Bear City airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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
- February 24, 2026 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Big Bear, California · Big Bear City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30, built 1966 · all PA-30s on the register
- Registration
- N811LE · registry record · serial 30-1224
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On February 23, 2026, at 1800 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-30, N811LE, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Big Bear, California. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported an uneventful flight from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (MYF), San Diego, California, to Big Bear City Airport (L35), Big Bear, California. Upon arrival at L35, the pilot extended the landing gear and saw that the nose landing gear was extended down, but the green landing gear light was not illuminated. After touchdown, the landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid down the runway, which resulted in damage to the fuselage undercarriage. The airplane was recovered to a secure facility 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
- Landing gear collapse during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,065 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 7, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: MYF San Diego CA at 1:20 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 08/2, 5,850 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.33 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from KL35
Weather report (METAR): METAR KL35 240155Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 06/M03 A3033 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket 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 WPR26LA107.