American Champion 8KCAB N59SE

Summary

On 29 January 2026 at about 21:30 local time, a American Champion 8KCAB registered N59SE was involved in an accident near Alpine, Wyoming, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 January 2026 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Alpine, Wyoming, United States

Nearest airport

Alpine (46U)

Coordinates

43.1921, -111.0564

Aircraft

American Champion 8KCAB

Registration

N59SE

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alpine → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR26LA095

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadvertent descent while operating in flat light conditions which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

At the conclusion of an uneventful flight, the pilot returned to the departure airport and entered the airport traffic pattern. The pilot stated that after he turned onto the base leg for the runway, he unknowingly lost depth perception and flew into the snow-covered terrain due to the “flat light” conditions. During the accident sequence, the airplane nosed over, and sustained substantial damage to the rudder, vertical stabilizer, and both wings. The pilot added that the terrain surrounding his base leg of the traffic pattern was a dry lakebed covered in snow, the sky was overcast, and there were no shadows. He further stated that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.