Dakota Cub AC-18, N84AJ, fatal accident occurred on July 16, 2026, near Plymouth Municipal Airport (PYM/KPYM), Plymouth, Massachusetts

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=N84AJ

- History of Flight:
On July 16, 2026, at about 0738 local time, a Dakota Cub AC-18, N84AJ, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Plymouth Municipal Airport (PYM/KPYM), Plymouth, Massachusetts. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The personal flight originated from Katama Airpark (1B2), Edgartown, Massachusetts, at 0701.

The pilot bought the airplane three weeks before the accident.

On the day of the accident, the pilot departed KPYM at 0632 on a short flight to Katama. The airplane stopped at the airpark for about 5 minutes before departing back to Plymouth.

According to Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data, the airplane entered a climb to the north to an inflight cruising altitude of 1,300 ft. At about 0720, the airplane started a series of gradual descents from cruise. At 0733, the airplane was descending through 550 ft when it climbed to 925 ft. About 8 seconds after reaching that altitude, the airplane began a 1000 feet per minute (fpm) descent over the Curlew Pond. At 0738:12, the airplane was at ~1.20 miles from runway 33 at KPYM descending through 350 ft, 52 knots, and -1500 fpm when it entered a left turn. The last ADS-B data point was recorded at 0738:24, the airplane was at 200 ft, 59 knots, -700 fpm.

Figure 1: ADS-B exchange track of both flights ran through Flysto

Figure 2: Groundspeed values toward end of track

Figure 3: Last data point before crash, note runway 33 threshold

The airplane impacted the surface of the water about 70 ft from the shore and came to rest inverted. The pilot was trapped inside for about 20 minutes and later died from the injuries sustained.

One witness who was at the pond stated: "We heard the plane stall. We thought we'd hear the engine re-start, but we didn't. That's when we knew that somebody was in trouble. We expected to see it in the trees over there. I'm thinking he must have put down to try to at least keep it in the pond as having his best chance of coming out of it." Another witness heard the "engine cut out, sputter and cut out again and then a splash."

Some witnesses added that the airplane leaked fuel to the pond.

The FAA reported: "Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances into curlew pond."

The pilot, aged 81, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land and sea ratings. His FAA BasicMed Course was dated 6/27/2026.

The accident aircraft, serial number AC-18-001, was manufactured in 2016. It was a high-wing, two-seat, conventional landing gear single engine aircraft in tractor configuration. The airplane was powered by a 190 HP Lycoming IO-360 engine that drove a two-bladed composite propeller. The airplane was equipped with vortex generators. According to manufacturer's website, the stall speed (at 2,050 lbs) is 49 mph (42 knots).

According to a sale listing:

"2016 Experimental Dakota widebody Super Cub. IO-360 engine 190 HP with 374.2 TSO Whirl wind prop with TSN 374.2. Garmin G3X with Garmin autopilot. Garmin GTX200 Com. ADSB out. Garmin GTX23 transponder. VG's. 31" tires. T3 tail wheel suspension. Alaska bush tail wheel. 406 ELT. Omega suspension system. extended gear. Atlee Dodge long steps. Very nice Aircraft."

Figure: Cockpit from aircraft com sale listing

The airplane came to rest in the water and there was no post crash fire. Both wings and tail remained attached to the airframe. The landing gear and tailwheel remained attached to the bottom of the fuselage. Little to no impact damage was noted on the airframe. The vertical stabilizer sustained some impact damage. The crash sequence appears consistent with the airplane impacting the surface of the water with little to no forward airspeed and flipping over.

Figure: Witnesses trying to flip the airplane to help pilot, photo was taken before airplane was pulled to the shore.

- Weather:

The 0752 METAR indicated winds 250 at 7 knots, 10 miles visibility, temperature 22 °C, dewpoint 15 °C, and an altimeter setting of 29.86 inches of mercury.

METAR KPYM 161052Z AUTO 25004KT 10SM CLR 19/14 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP114 T01940144 $

METAR KPYM 161152Z AUTO 25007KT 10SM CLR 22/15 A2986 RMK AO2 SLP113 T02220150 10222 20156 50004