# NTSB WPR25LA163: Rans S20, N327KM, Fairfield, UT, May 27, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: May 27, 2025, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place: Fairfield, UT
- Coordinates: 40.242804, -112.09216 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2428&lon=-112.0922&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Emergency descent](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/600) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA – SLC FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 200237
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA163
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200237/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA163

## Preliminary report

On May 27, 2025, about 1330 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built RANS S20 Raven, N327KM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fairfield, Utah. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that shortly after departing the runway at the West Desert Airpark (UT9), Fairfield, Utah, about 800 ft above ground level, the airplane had a total loss of engine power followed by an error message on the multi function display. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful, and initiated a forced landing on a field. The airplane landed hard on a vegetated field and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. 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.

- [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [West Desert Aviators RANS S-20 RAVEN, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=05641FP), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)
- [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440) (defining event); cases with it: [West Desert Aviators RANS S-20 RAVEN, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=05641FP), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md)
- [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [West Desert Aviators RANS S-20 RAVEN, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=05641FP), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N327KM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N327KM), registered now, S/N 07220103, built 2025 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: RANS S20 (NO SERIES EXISTS)
- Registry model: [West Desert Aviators RANS S-20 RAVEN](https://openairdocs.org/model/west-desert-aviators-rans-s-20-raven) (registry code 05641FP) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 916 IS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-916-is-series) (registry code 55622, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 07220103
- Year built: 2025
- Airframe hours: 10
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection: Condition, April 22, 2025, 10 hours before
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: UT9, West Desert Airpark, runway 17/35, 5,200 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 80 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observed at: ut9, 1.3 nm away
- METAR: KPVU 271956Z 27006KT 10SM SCT080 SCT200 25/06 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP148 T02500056

## 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 20250527007709A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250527007709A), May 27, 2025: West Desert Aviators RANS S-20 RAVEN, Fairfield, UT, Substantial damage. On may 27, 2025, [privacy data omitted] departed UT9 at ~1937MST leaving north on the runway. The PIC initiated a gradual climb heading east and then south…

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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