CESSNA T182

Full Narrative

On April 8, 2026, about 1315 mountain standard time, a Cessna T182, N5475N, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Marion, Montana. Both pilots were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to the left seat pilot, he had recently received the airplane from a broker and was preparing to purchase it. Prior to purchasing the airplane, he noted an oil leak and coordinated with the seller to conduct a short local flight to ascertain where the oil was leaking from. The pilot contacted another, more experienced pilot to fly with him.
During the flight, the first pilot was having difficulty maintaining runway centerline during landings so the second pilot performed a landing. During the landing roll the nosewheel began to shimmy, and the pilot flying applied left rudder and brake, however, was unable to maintain centerline. The airplane exited the right side of the runway and struck a ditch that was adjacent to taxiway, which resulted in substantial damaging both wings.
A postaccident examination of the wreckage was conducted and the nosewheel bearing was found loose.