Pilot Debrief

D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport near Phoenix, AZ — 2025-04-19

Investigation ongoingWPR25LA136
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Date
2025-04-19
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Airport
DVT
Aircraft
D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport
Registration
N321WC
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

NTSB has not published a probable cause for this accident yet. Preliminary reports describe what happened; the cause is determined later, often 12–24 months after the event.

NTSB narrative

On April 19, 2025, about 1106 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur built D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport, N321WC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported after completing a thorough preflight inspection and adding fuel to the main saddle tanks. The pilot departed runway 7R at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, with the intention of staying in the airport traffic pattern, to “exercise the airplane.” During an approach for a third touch and go takeoff and landing, the pilot initiated a go-around at the direction of the air traffic control tower controller. As he turned onto the downwind leg for runway 7R, about 1,000 ft above the ground (agl), the engine RPM surged multiple times followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot turned the electric fuel boost pump on (both high and low speed settings) and cycled the throttle and mixture lever settings, but the engine did not restart. About 700 ft agl, the pilot turned towards the airport and declared an emergency, in which he was immediately cleared by a tower controller to land on runway 25R. The pilot realized that he would not be able to make it to the airport and initiated a forced landing onto a road. During the off-airport landing sequence, the pilot the pilot maneuvered from the road to avoid a vehicle, and the airplane impacted a carport roof. Subsequently the airplane came to rest nose down in a parking lot. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that both lower wings were substantially damaged. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Preliminary NTSB coding

  • Loss of engine power (total) · Approach-VFR pattern downwind
View NTSB preliminary report

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