Winona plane crash: Investigation shows wing was replaced before flight

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Published July 7, 2026 4:13 PM CDT

The site of the crash near the Winona Municipal Airport on June 25, 2026. (FOX 9)

The Brief

    • A recent report on a fatal plane crash in June outlines circumstances leading up to the fatal crash in Winona.
    • According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot had replaced a wing leading up to the flight that he was testing before the crash, but it didn't directly fault the replacement as the cause.
    • The pilot, Wayne William Ledebuhr, died in the crash after its right wingtip made impact with the ground, and the aircraft tumbled.

WINONA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A new report following a fatal plane crash near the Winona Municipal Airport in June shows that the pilot of the plane had recently replaced a wing, though it stopped short of blaming it for the cause of the crash.

Winona plane crash cause

What we know:

The Winona Police Department initially reported responding to the airport around 7:55 p.m. on June 25, 2026, after receiving reports of a plane crash near a runway.

When officers arrived, they found a small aircraft with an unresponsive person inside. Authorities say they found the pilot, later identified as Wayne William Ledebuhr, 74, of Winona. He was the only person aboard the aircraft at the time.

NTSB investigation

Dig deeper:

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provides further insights into the circumstances surrounding the crash, and the testing that was being conducted prior to its crash.

The report found that before the flight, the pilot removed the Streak 3 king post wing that had been on the aircraft for two years prior, and installed an Arrow strutted wing.

According to the pilot’s friend who witnessed the accident, the wing was replaced just before the accident, and the purpose of the flight was to test the new wing.

The pilot replaced the wing because the strutted wing had a lower height clearance and made it easier to store the aircraft in the hangar, according to the report. 

The witness told investigators that the pilot performed two "crow hops" while in the aircraft by taking off on runway 30 and immediately landing again on the runway.

The witness said that the "crow hops" and traffic pattern were "unremarkable" until the aircraft turned onto a third approach, during which a correction made caused the right wingtip to impact the ground, and the aircraft to tumble.

According to the airframe logbook, the report says that the last annual inspection of the aircraft was performed in April 2024, and there was "nothing found during the post-accident examination of the aircraft that would have precluded normal operation."

The Source: Information provided by the National Transportation Safety Board.

MinnesotaCrime and Public Safety