The National Transportation Safety Board revealed that a pilot was avoiding a turtle on the runway before he fatally crashed near Farmington, North Carolina, earlier this month.

On June 3, the pilot was attempting to land his single-engine airplane, a Stinson 108 Voyager, at the Sugar Valley Airport when he crashed, according to the NTSB report published Wednesday.

Of the three souls on board, only one passenger survived.

NTSB issues its preliminary report for the ongoing investigation of the June 3 crash of a Universal Stinson 108 airplane in Farmington, North Carolina: https://t.co/K1Ncs5eixY

— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) June 18, 2025

According to the NTSB report, the pilot was trying to avoid the hazardous condition on the runway.

“A man cutting the grass at the end of runway 2 reported that he saw the turtle on the runway and the pilot raised the right wheel to avoid the turtle,” the report read. “After that, the wings began to rock back and forth.”

the pilot of the Stinson 108 airplane that crashed at Sugar Valley Airport in Mocksville had been informed that there was a turtle on the runway during takeoff and was attempting to avoid it.https://t.co/9SuCBC8sim

— 21 South News (@21SouthNews) June 20, 2025

“Then the airplane took off again, but he lost site of the airplane when it passed behind a hangar. The airplane disappeared just over the trees on the northeast side of the runway and then he heard a loud crash and saw smoke,” the report read.

The radio operator on the ground had reportedly informed the pilot about the turtle before he attempted to land, according to the report.

After the attempted landing, the aircraft smashed into a forested area more than 250 feet northeast of the runway before it caught on fire.

The pilot was evidently attempting a go-around, according to WGHP-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A go-around is when a pilot, usually after a balked landing, applies full power and climbs to come back around for another landing.

“It can be a training maneuver. It can be done deliberately, or it can be done as a response or mitigating factor to, say, another airplane that pulls out in front of an airplane that’s trying to land or take off,” flight instructor and commercial pilot Robert Katz told WGHP-TV.

The NTSB report described the damage following the crash.

“The airplane was wedged between several trees and remained in one piece except for a few pieces of fabric that were found in an adjacent stream next to the accident site,” according to the report.

“The fabric on the fuselage, cowling, and wings was completely burned off and the airplane frame was visible,” the report read.

Contributing Journalist

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