Pyka PELICAN N939NP

Summary

On 28 March 2025 at about 16:50 local time, a Pyka PELICAN registered N939NP, operated by Pyka Inc, was involved in an accident near Dixon, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 March 2025 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Dixon, California, United States

Nearest airport

Pvt (PVT)

Coordinates

38.4318, -121.7261

Aircraft

Pyka PELICAN

Registration

N939NP

Category

Airplane

Year built

2023

Engines

4

Operator

Pyka Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA25LA174

Nobody was injured.

The flight control system’s unanticipated transition to takeoff abort mode due to a software error in the autonomous flight control system, which resulted in a premature throttle reduction and hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A Pyka Inc. unmanned aircraft system (model name Pelican, type: airplane) sustained substantial damage during a flight test at the manufacturer’s test site. There were no injuries. The airplane was operating with an FAA Certificate of Authorization No. 2025-WSA-562-SAC-REV1 and operating exemption No. 23028. According to the manufacturer’s website, the airplane is designed for agricultural spraying applications. It has 4 electric motors that each drive a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller, and has a maximum gross weight of 1,320 lbs. Figure 1. Photo of the Pelican vehicle. (Source: Pyka Inc.) According to the operator, the purpose of the flight was to test landings. Following a normal takeoff in autonomous mode, approximately two seconds into the flight, the ground control station operator issued a land command. In response, the aircraft unexpectedly reduced throttle to idle and annunciated that it had entered a takeoff abort mode. The aircraft then descended and landed abruptly on the dirt runway. The impact resulted in partial separation of the forward fuselage at the wing leading edge and buckling of the aft fuselage on the right side beneath the wing trailing edge. After the accident, the operator discovered an error in the autonomous software that resulted in the unintended behavior of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.