# Accident 20250419005169A: Chapin Wallace Hadley SENIOR AERO SPORT, Phoenix, AZ, April 19, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 19, 2025, 11:06 local time
- Place: Phoenix, AZ
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.6822° N, 112.0740° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6822&lon=-112.0740&mi=10
- Aircraft: N321WC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N321WC-2026-03-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Chapin Wallace Hadley SENIOR AERO SPORT (registry code 05605G3, https://openairdocs.org/model/chapin-wallace-hadley-senior-aero-sport) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CHAPIN WALLACE HADLEY SENIOR AERO SPORT
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 6,600 total, 325 in this make and model, 4 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR25LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA136) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250419005169A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 19, 2025, AIRCRAFT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT, EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHILE PERFORMING TOUCH-AND-GO MANEUVERS, RESULTING IN A SUBSEQUENT CRASH. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A BUSINESS'S CARPORT STRUCTURE, SUSTAINING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INJURY. THERE WAS NO POST-CRASH FIRE.

IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, THE PILOT INDICATED THAT PRIOR TO DEPARTING KDVT, THE AIRCRAFT REQUIRED A FULL-RICH FUEL MIXTURE TO IDLE SMOOTHLY, THOUGH HE NOTED, "IT IS HAPPIER WHEN LEANED SLIGHTLY." FOLLOWING THE CRASH, THE PILOT INITIALLY TURNED OFF THE MASTER SWITCH AND APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES LATER RETURNED TO THE AIRCRAFT—VERIFIED BY SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE—TO TURN OFF THE FUEL SELECTOR SWITCH AND SADDLE FUEL TANKS. ADDITIONALLY, SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE INDICATES AN UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ENTERED THE COCKPIT AREA APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES POST-CRASH, WITH THEIR ACTIONS UNDETERMINED.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS INITIALLY TRANSPORTED TO THE PILOT'S HANGAR AT KDVT AND LATER MOVED BY THE NTSB TO A SECURE LOCATION FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. ON APRIL 30, 2025, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE NTSB, FAA, AND LYCOMING CONDUCTED AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE AND FUEL SYSTEM. INITIAL INSPECTION REVEALED NO FUEL PRESENT IN THE GASCOLATOR OR MAIN FUEL LINE. THE ENGINE EXHIBITED GOOD COMPRESSION, CORRECT TIMING, AND SPARK PLUGS IN SATISFACTORY CONDITION. FUEL WAS PRESENT IN THE SADDLE TANKS AND THE BELLY-MOUNTED ACRO TANK; THE WING TANKS WERE EMPTY. THE SADDLE TANK SELECTOR VALVES WERE FOUND IN THE CLOSED POSITION, THOUGH IT IS UNKNOWN IF THEY HAD BEEN ADJUSTED POST-ACCIDENT.

FOR THE SUBSEQUENT ENGINE RUN TEST, FUEL SELECTOR VALVES WERE REPOSITIONED TO A KNOWN OPEN CONFIGURATION. THE FIRST TWO ENGINE START ATTEMPTS RESULTED IN BRIEF SPUTTERING; THE ENGINE SUCCESSFULLY STARTED ON THE THIRD ATTEMPT. MULTIPLE THROTTLE AND FUEL MIXTURE SETTINGS WERE TESTED, WITH THE ENGINE OPERATING NORMALLY THROUGHOUT. FOLLOWING THE ENGINE RUN, INSPECTIONS CONFIRMED ADEQUATE FUEL SUPPLY IN BOTH THE MAIN FUEL LINE AND GASCOLATOR. THE ENGINE EXAMINATION CONCLUDED THEREAFTER.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR25LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA136), Apr 19, 2025: D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport (N321WC), Phoenix, AZ, substantial damage, investigation ongoing

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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