N262AL

On June 23, 2025, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Cessna R182 airplane, N262AL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Milton, Florida. The airline transport pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight.

The pilot departed from Dothan Regional Airport (DHN) Dothan, Alabama and flew about 95 nautical miles before landing at J-22 Ranch Airport (16FL) Milton, Florida. At 16FL, the pilot planned to have a new emergency locator transmitter battery installed. About 90 minutes after arriving, the maintenance was completed, and the pilot departed for the flight back to DHN. The pilot reported that the preflight checks and runup were normal and that he attempted a short field takeoff from runway 36, a 2,895-turf runway. After the takeoff roll and rotation, the pilot began the initial climb, and retracted the landing gear. The airplane was still about 75 ft over the runway, when the engine rapidly started losing power. The pilot described that the engine retained partial power, but that it was not enough to maintain altitude.

The pilot attempted to troubleshoot, but due to the low height above ground level, he had just enough time to check the throttle and mixture, and was unable to regain full power. The pilot subsequently landed off the departure end of the runway and slightly east of the centerline. During the final approach, he held the nose up and landed hard on the level terrain. The impact collapsed the right main landing gear, and the airplane skidded to a stop resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. During the accident sequence, the right wingtip was crushed upwards and there was buckling to the wings and fuselage. The 3-blade metal propeller blades were slightly curled on the outer 12-inches of the blades. The pilot reported that there were 65 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel on board at takeoff.

The airplane was retained for further examination.