The Oct. 7 crash killed pilot John Unangst, 67, the only person aboard the Lancair IV-P. The federal agency’s preliminary report gives the clearest account yet of the plane’s final moments but doesn’t say what caused the crash.
The NTSB investigation remains ongoing. The agency said the information in the preliminary report could change as investigators continue examining the wreckage and other evidence.
Flight-tracking data reviewed by investigators showed the plane took off from Hicks Airfield about 9:51 a.m. It climbed to about 875 feet, made a left turn and reached about 1,000 feet, according to the report. The plane then slowed and began descending before crashing about one minute after takeoff.
The plane struck power lines along the south side of a road near the airfield, investigators said. Pieces of the propeller and other parts of the aircraft were found beneath the power lines. The plane continued across the road before crashing into a ditch.
The main part of the plane came to rest upright in the ditch and caught fire. Most of the wreckage was burned, while portions of the tail separated from the aircraft and landed against a nearby brick wall, according to the report.
Emergency crews responding to the crash found the aircraft on fire near Hicks Airfield. The crash also sparked a grass fire, but no injuries were reported on the ground.
Unangst was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash was the second fatal aviation accident near Hicks Airfield in less than a year. Two people died in October 2025 when a twin-engine King Air crashed near the airfield.