ERA26FA239 · Blessing RV-3A

On June 15, 2026, about 1955 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Van’s RV-3A, N696DB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Lakeland, Florida. The pilot received fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Review of ADS-B data showed that the pilot departed Bartow executive Airport (BOW), Bartow, Florida, about 1930. A witness, who was also a pilot, stated that he and the accident pilot were going to rendezvous near Orlampa Inc Airport (FA08), Polk City, Florida, and conduct formation flight maneuvers in the area. The witness stated that after joining up in formation with the accident pilot, they conducted basic formation straight-and-level flight and turn maneuvers at 140 mph. During the initial formation sequence the accident pilot was the lead airplane. After the formation flight completed a few turns, they conducted a planned lead change. According to the witness, who was then serving as the formation lead, he flew the airplane with the autopilot engaged and set to maintain 2,000 ft msl and 140 mph. The witness stated that he used the heading bug to make directional changes, providing a stable platform for the formation. The accident pilot then requested that the witness record a formation break maneuver. Video recorded by the witness showed the accident airplane initiating a right roll into the break maneuver. During the maneuver, the right wing folded upward to about 90º, and fuel was observed spraying from the right wing root area. The witness reported observing an object separate from the fuselage area as the airplane rolled inverted and entered a dive. The witness watched the airplane as it descended but did not observe the ground impact because it was obscured by trees. The airplane impacted an agricultural field 6 nm west of FA08. The wreckage debris were isolated to three locations. The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, with the exception of the canopy, right wing, and right flap, which had separated from the airframe. The fuselage came to rest in trees, oriented on a magnetic heading of 210º. The separated right wing was located about 1/4-mi east of the main wreckage. The right flap was about 600 ft south of the right wing. The canopy was not located. The fuselage and left wing were crushed and compacted. The right side of the fuselage was completely torn in the accident sequence and the left side of the fuselage remained connected to the left wing and empennage. The entire cockpit and instrument panel were crushed and the instrument panel and gauges were fragmented. The horizontal stabilizers were impact-separated and the rudder was intact. Control continuity was established between the control surfaces to the cockpit through cables and fractured control tubes. The engine and propeller remained attached to the crushed firewall, and was embedded about 4 ft into the ground. The propellor hub and remnants of the wooden propellor were splintered and buried beneath the engine. A portion of the right wing upper and lower spar cap was removed and retained for examination.

Verbatim NTSB factual narrative from the NTSB dataset