This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this writing will be corrected when/if the NTSB preliminary report is released.
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N339NA
- History of Flight:
On November 8, 2026, at about 1410 local time, an Aero Vodochody L-39C Albatros jet, N339NA, registered to Michaels Air Service LLC out of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mayfield Graves County Airport (M25), Mayfield, Kentucky. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The flight was originating at the time, and was presumably destined to Waukegan Memorial Airport (UGN/KUGN), Waukegan, Illinois.
The FAA reported that the airplane crashed under unknown circumstances in a field and a post crash fire.
The pilot, aged 70, held an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land/sea ratings and a helicopter rating. He also held commercial privileges for an airplane multiengine land rating. His third class FAA medical was issued on 6/2026, with a note that he must use corrective lens(es) to meet vision standards at all required distances. The pilot held a Cessna CE-525S jet type rating, and was authorized for the AVL-39, H-FB-11, N-P51 aircraft under an experiential category.
Flight-tracking history shows that, on November 6, the airplane departed KUGN on a flight to Mayfield, Kentucky then proceeded south towards Gulfport, Mississippi, where it participated in an air show. The return leg to M25 and the accident flight were not captured on flight-tracking websites.
According to preliminary information, the accident airplane and another L-39 flown by the pilot's daughter, arrived early in the morning at Mayfield to refuel. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff from the airport during the return leg to KUGN.
Preliminary information indicates that the pilot reported engine issues shortly after takeoff and that he was returning to the airport. The other L-39 also returned and landed uneventfully, but the accident airplane crashed in an open field about one mile from the airport.
The jet came to rest in an open field and was consumed by a post crash fire. The debris field leading to the main wreckage suggests the jet was doing a forced landing when it contacted a ditch and exploded. The fire consumed the airframe.
The accident airplane, serial number 332514, was manufactured in 1983. It was powered by an Ivchenko model AI-25TL turbofan engine.
Mayfield Graves County Airport is a public airport located 3 miles northeast of Mayfield, Kentucky. The airport field elevation was 522.4 ft. The airport features a single asphalt runway 1/19 which is 5002 ft long and 100 ft wide.
