What happened
On February 23, 2026, at 18:00 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-30, registration N811LE, was involved in an accident near Big Bear, California. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot departed from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (MYF) in San Diego, California, en route to Big Bear City Airport (L35). During the approach to L35, the pilot extended the landing gear and observed that while the nose landing gear appeared to be down, the green landing gear indicator light failed to illuminate.
Upon touchdown, the landing gear collapsed. The aircraft slid down the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage undercarriage. The pilot and passenger were not injured.
The investigation
The aircraft was recovered to a secure facility for further examination.