# Incident 20240414004079I: Maricopa, AZ, April 14, 2024

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 14, 2024, 07:35 local time
- Place: Maricopa, AZ
- Airport: Ak-Chin
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Ultralight vehicle (Part 103)
- Location: 33.0273° N, 112.0851° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at AK-CHIN (2AN2), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.0273&lon=-112.0851&mi=10
- Aircraft: NONE (not matched to a registry record)
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240414004079I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

THE PILOT DEPARTED AK-CHIN AIRPORT AS PART OF A GROUP OF THREE PARAMOTORS. APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT, ONE OF THE OTHER PILOTS IN THE GROUP WITNESSED WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS THE WING “30% COLLAPSED”, AND THE AIRCRAFT IN A SPIRALING DESCENT (THE WITNESS SAID HE BELIEVED THE SPIRAL WAS LIKELY TO THE LEFT), MAKING 1.5 TO 2 TURNS FROM APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL TO IMPACT.  THE WITNESS ADDED THAT THE WING HAD RECOVERED FROM THE COLLAPSE JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT.  THE WRECKAGE OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS CONFINED NEAR THE POINT OF IMPACT.  THERE WAS NO POST-CRASH FIRE.  THE FUEL TANK HAD SEPARATED FROM THE PARAMOTOR AND WAS EMPTY.  THE WING OF THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE PARAMOTOR PRIOR TO THE FAA INSPECTORS’ ARRIVAL BY THE PILOTS OF THE OTHER TWO AIRCRAFT.  THE WING HAD BEEN PACKED INTO A BAG TO PREVENT THE WIND FROM CARRYING IT, AND TO ALLOW ACCESS TO THE DECEASED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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