WPR25LA218

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 425 · Round Rock, AZ · July 17, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
July 17, 2025, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
Place
Round Rock, AZ
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N425DCessna 425
Defining event
Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
FAA
FAA report
20250717009779A
Case key
200588

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 July 17, 2025, about 1600 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 425, N425D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Round Rock, Arizona. The pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The pilot under instruction and the flight instructor reported that they were about 1.5 hours into the flight from Centennial Airport (APA), Denver, Colorado to Phoenix Dear Valley (DVT), Phoenix, Arizona. They reported that during cruise flight at an altitude of about 26,000 ft msl, they heard a loud noise from the left engine, followed by an immediate and total loss of engine power. While troubleshooting the left engine, the right engine lost total power, as confirmed by the torque and engine temperature gauges. They declared an emergency with air traffic control and attempted to restart the right engine, but the primary flight display “flickered for a moment” followed by a total loss of electrical power. The pilot initiated a forced landing to an open desert area and during the landing sequence on a dry, rough surface, the main landing gear separated. The airplane came to rest upright, and the left wing sustained substantial damage. The airplane was recovered to a secure facility for further examination.

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
N425D
Reported as
Cessna 425
Category
Airplane
Serial number
425-0121
Built
1981
Airframe hours
7,348.6
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Registered owner
United Industries LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Continuous airworthiness · April 11, 2025
Departed
APA · Centennial, CO
Destination
DVT · Phoenix, AZ
Flight plan
IFR
Equipment
Stall warning system

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
280° at 7 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
81 °F, dew point 48 °F
Altimeter
30.18 inHg
Observed at
KRQE, 52 nm away
METAR
METAR KRQE 172153Z AUTO 28007KT 10SM FEW120 27/09 A3018 RMK AO2 WSHFT 2040 LTG DSNT NE SLP093 T02670094=

FAA reports on this event · 1

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