WPR25FA031

NTSB accident investigation · Honda HA420 · Mesa, AZ · November 5, 2024

Accident · FatalClass 3 · FieldPreliminary report
Date
November 5, 2024, 16:39 local (23:39 UTC)
Place
Mesa, AZ
Injuries
5 fatal, 1 serious; on the ground: 1 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N57HPHonda HA420
Defining event
Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Unknown or undetermined
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
Honda, FAA, General Electric
FAA report
20241105015829A
Case key
195447

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On November 5, 2024, at 1639 mountain daylight time, a Honda HA-420, N57HP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mesa, AZ. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured, one passenger was seriously injured, and the single occupant of an automobile was fatally injured. The airplane as operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the survivor, the occupants were flying from Falcon Field Airport (FFZ), Mesa, Arizona, to Provo Municipal Airport (PVU), Provo, Utah to attend a college basketball game. They intended to return to FFZ that same night and did not pack any luggage. A friend assisted the occupants as they entered the airplane and prepared for the flight. According to the friend, the pilot had fueled the airplane from a private fuel tank prior to the flight. He did not know how much fuel specifically was added, but the pilot had communicated to him that there was sufficient fuel for the flight, and that he would refuel at PVU before returning. The friend did not observe the airplane take off. The Air Traffic Control Tower controller cleared the pilot for takeoff from runway 22L, which the pilot acknowledged. No further transmissions were received from the pilot. Security video captured the airplane accelerating on runway 22L until about 3,000 ft from the approach end of the runway (about 2,100 ft of runway remaining). The airplane subsequently began to decelerate and overran the departure end of the runway near centerline. The airplane maintained runway heading and struck the airport perimeter fence located about 600 ft beyond the departure end of the runway before it continued across a roadway. The airplane struck a single vehicle when it entered the roadway, and came to rest upright on the far side of the road. The airplane fuselage fractured forward of the leading edge of the wings and a post impact fire ensued. The wreckage was examined on-scene before being moved to a secure location for additional evaluation. Flight control continuity was verified from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces and all major components of the airplane were identified at the accident site. There was no evidence of any parts separating from the airplane prior to the airplane impacting the perimeter fence. The control column gust lock was located uninstalled. The airplane brake and anti-skid system was examined, and no anomalies were noted. The airplane was equipped with a Garmin 3000 Integrated Flight Deck (G3000) avionics suite. The G3000 is capable of recording flight log data on a removable Secure Data (SD) card and Central Maintenance Data (CMD) within the primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD). Flight log data is limited to some airplane performance parameters, engine operating parameters, and limited system operating functions. Flight log data does not record any systems warnings. The SD card was removed from the MFD and the flight log data for the accidentflight was recovered. The data showed that during takeoff, the airplane had accelerated to about 130 knots before it began to decelerate. No engine anomalies were noted in the data. Both PFDs and the MFD were removed from the wreckage and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Recorders Laboratory for download of the CMF data.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Aircraft

Registration
N57HP
Reported as
Honda HA420
Category
Airplane
Serial number
42000033
Built
2016
Airframe hours
785
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
Fire at unknown time
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Ice Man Holdings LLC
Registered owner
Ice Man Holdings LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
AAIP · June 23, 2023 · 182 hours before
Destination
PVU · Provo, UT
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
FFZ · Falcon Fld, runway 04R/22L, 5,100 × 100 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
70 °F, dew point 28 °F
Altimeter
29.85 inHg
Observed at
KFFZ, 1 nm away
METAR
KFFZ 052354Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 21/M02 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP094 T02061022 10211 20167 56022

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.