Aerosport IKARUS C42E N420MS

Summary

On 16 February 2026 at about 01:15 local time, a Aerosport IKARUS C42E registered N420MS was involved in an accident near Wendover, Utah, United States. 2 people were 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

16 February 2026 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Wendover, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.7743, -113.8946

Aircraft

Aerosport IKARUS C42E

Registration

N420MS

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wendover Airport → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR26LA104

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s mismanagement of engine power during a maximum performance, 180° climbing left turn at a low altitude that resulted in impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during a personal flight at dusk, he descended to get a closer look at the sunset reflecting off the water on the salt flats. Afterwards, he performed a chandelle maneuver to reverse course and depart the area. He initiated the maneuver by adding full power, banked left and established a climb. At the apex of the climbing left turn, the airspeed decreased and he lowered the nose to regain airspeed. The pilot stated that they were very quickly in a nose down dive, and due to the low altitude, he had little time to troubleshoot and recover. Subsequently, the airplane landed in a flat attitude, which resulted in substantial damage to the aluminum main cross beam landing gear attachment point structure. The pilot added that at some point during the maneuver, power was accidentally reduced and he didn’t notice. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.