DAKOTA CUB SUPER 18

Full Narrative

On July 16, 2026, about 0740 eastern daylight time, a Dakota Cub Super 18 airplane, N84AJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Plymouth, Massachusetts. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
ADS-B data obtained from the FAA and data extracted from the airplane’s Garmin G3X showed that the airplane departed from Plymouth Municipal Airport (PYM), Plymouth, Massachusetts, about 0632, and flew south towards Katama Airpark(1B2), Edgartown, Massachusetts, and then flew back towards PYM, generally staying below 1,000 ft above ground level. The airplane flew a path similar to a straight-in for runway 33 until it was about 1.4 miles from the departure end of the runway (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Overview of total flight
According to preliminary information provided by the Massachusetts State Police, eyewitnesses by Curlew Pond reported that as the airplane flew over the pond, the engine started to sputter. The airplane initially continued toward the airport but turned back toward the water, and then the engine noise went quiet. The airplane glided to the water and then nosed over inverted (see figure 2).

Figure 2. Last portion of flight
The airplane was brought to a nearby shore, and turned back to the upright position. After initial documentation of the airplane, it was transported to the airport for further examination.
Postaccident examination revealed the magneto switch was selected to the BOTH position and the fuel pump switch was in the ON position. The fuel selector was selected to the left tank. Neither wing fuel cap was recovered with the airplane. The left fuel tank contained less than 10 ounces of fuel and the right fuel tank contained less than 4 ounces of fuel; neither fuel tank was breached. Fuel lines from the fuel tanks to the fuel selector remained secured and when opened contained fuel. Using a water detection paste, the fuel from the left fuel tank line contained some water and the fuel in the right fuel tank line did not contain any water. A fuel sample from the gascolator bowl contained a mixture of fuel and water. It is unknown how much fuel may have drained out of either tank while the airplane was inverted in the water. The fuel line from the engine driven fuel pump to the fuel servo was empty of fuel. The fuel servo’s fuel screen was free of visual contaminants.
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for both airplane single engine land and airplane single engine sea.