What happened
On August 18, 2025, at approximately 09:44 EST, a Thrush S2R-T660, registration N7001B, was involved in an accident at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport in Albany, Georgia. The aircraft was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for the purpose of a production flight test.
The pilot reported that the first two landings of the day were successful. However, during the third landing, the left master cylinder failed while the aircraft was in a two-wheel landing configuration with the tail low. This failure caused the aircraft to swerve to the right at high speed. As the aircraft departed the runway, the left tire separated from the rim and dug into the runway surface and adjacent dirt, causing the tail to pivot around the left main landing gear. The resulting side load force caused the left main gear to separate from the aircraft. The propeller and left wing subsequently contacted the ground before the aircraft came to a stop.
The pilot sustained one minor injury, and there were no fatalities.