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NTSB Opens Investigation Into Fatal Experimental Aircraft Crash Near Caldwell, Idaho

One person was killed when a Sonex ONEX was destroyed on February 6, 2026, according to the National Transportation Safety Board accident record; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 11:33 a.m. ET
One person was killed when a single-engine experimental aircraft was destroyed near Caldwell, Idaho, on February 6, 2026, at about 5:50 p.m. local time, according to the National Transportation Safety Board accident record. The event is still developing and details remain limited. The accident record identifies the aircraft as a , registration , and lists one person on board and one fatality. It classifies the flight as a Part 91 general aviation flight and lists the aircraft as destroyed. The cause has not been determined, and the NTSB investigation is open. Aircraft registry records list as a Merlyn R Reppert ONEX, a single-engine piston landplane, serial number 0039, built in 2020 and six years old at the time of the crash, with the engine listed only as an unknown experimental type, registered in the United States. The registry lists the registered owner as Schwettmann Dennis E; the owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight, may have no connection to the accident, and may not have been aboard. Public compilations drawn from FAA records list a person of the same name in the same area — Nampa, Idaho, in Canyon County — among registered airmen, showing a third-class medical certificate listed as expiring in October 2016 and a private pilot, airplane single-engine land certificate in the adjacent entry text, the detail of which is truncated so the exact ratings cannot be confirmed from it. A separate compilation lists a "Dennis E Schwettmann" as the individual registrant of a 1965 Champion 7ECA, N11059, with a certificate issue date of 12/20/2017. It has not been confirmed that these records refer to the same person. A weather observation recorded at Caldwell Executive Airport (KEUL), 3.2 miles away and six minutes from the reported time, showed calm wind, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies and 49°F. That is an instrument reading only and is not a determination of cause. Geographic reference data places Caldwell in Canyon County, Idaho, at a settlement elevation of 2,369 feet, 3.2 miles northwest of KEUL, 3.2 miles southwest of Hubler Field (ID00) and 4.4 miles east-northeast of Hoskins Field (63ID).

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Registration
N362DZ
Type
Merlyn R Reppert ONEX — single-engine piston landplane
Engines
AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
Built
2020-01-01 (6 years old)
Registered owner
Schwettmann Dennis EThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
Terrain elevation
2,369 ft
Nearest aerodrome
3.2 miles SW of Hubler Field (ID00)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 27 Aug 2026, 15:33current

    Added the registry's listing of the engine as an unknown experimental type, clarified the truncated airmen-directory entry and the settlement-only elevation, and reordered the closing paragraphs; added source URLs for the owner-background compilations.

  2. Version 15 Aug 2026, 18:22

    First published.

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