# NTSB WPR25LA136: D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport, N321WC, Phoenix, AZ, April 19, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: April 19, 2025, 11:06 local (18:06 UTC)
- Place: Phoenix, AZ
- Coordinates: 33.682181, -112.07396
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6822&lon=-112.0740&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Lycoming, Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 200044
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA136
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200044/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA136

## Preliminary report

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.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Chapin Wallace Hadley SENIOR AERO SPORT, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05605G3), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N321WC](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N321WC-2026-03-10), registration cancelled 2026-03-10, S/N 001, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport
- Registry model: [Chapin Wallace Hadley SENIOR AERO SPORT](https://openairdocs.org/model/chapin-wallace-hadley-senior-aero-sport) (registry code 05605G3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 001
- Year built: 1997
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: N321 Whiskey Charlie LLC
- Registered owner: N321 Whiskey Charlie LLC
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: DVT, Phoenix - Deer Valley, runway 7R, 8,196 × 100 ft, asphalt

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 59 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter: 30.08 inHg
- Observed at: KDVT, 1 nm away
- METAR: KDVT 191753Z VRB03KT 10SM CLR 15/04 A3008 RMK AO2 SLP177 T01500044 10156 20083 51015

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20250419005169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250419005169A), Apr 19, 2025: Chapin Wallace Hadley SENIOR AERO SPORT, Phoenix, AZ, Substantial damage. On April 19, 2025, aircraft [privacy data omitted], an experimental amateur-built aircraft, experienced a loss of engine power while performing touch-and-go…

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.

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