Cessna 162 accident near Everett, Washington, April 25, 2026
On April 25, 2026 at about 5:26 pm local time, a 2011 Cessna 162, registered N162HA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Everett, Washington (Seattle Paine Fld Intl airport). It was an instructional 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).
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
- April 25, 2026 · about 5:26 pm local time
- Place
- Everett, Washington · Seattle Paine Fld Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 162, built 2011 · all 162s on the register
- Registration
- N162HA · no longer on the register · serial 16200035
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On April 25, 2026, at 1026 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 162, N162HA, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Everett, Washington. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor and student pilot reported that they were performing touch-and-go landings on runways 34L and 34R at the Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE), Everett, Washington. During a subsequent takeoff, after the nose landing gear lifted off the runway surface, they heard a loud clunking sound. They conducted a normal climb and requested clearance from the tower controller to perform a low-altitude pass over the runway, to allow ground personnel to visually inspect the landing gear. Flight school personnel reported to the pilots that the nose landing gear appeared damaged. After performing additional low-altitude passes, the flight instructor chose to land on runway 34L. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed and folded aft, which resulted in substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage near the firewall. 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
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,793.3 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, April 20, 2026; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: 206 Aviation LLC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16R/, 9,010 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
- Observation at 10:34 am from KPAE, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): SPECI KPAE 251734Z 01006KT 10SM CLR 12/00 A2992 RMK AO2 T01170000
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
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 WPR26LA178.