# NTSB WPR25LA291: Pipistrel D O O Alpha Trainer, N246EA, Wittman, AZ, September 25, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: September 25, 2025, 06:53 local (13:53 UTC)
- Place: Wittman, AZ
- Coordinates: 33.764877, -112.82611
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7649&lon=-112.8261&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341)
- Highest injury: Minor injuries
- Injuries: 2 minor
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 201717
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA291
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/201717/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA291

## Preliminary report

On September 25, 2025, at about 0653 mountain daylight time, a Pipistrel D O O Alpha Trainer, N246EA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Wittman, Arizona. The two pilots on board received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilots, while in cruise flight at an altitude of 6,500 ft msl, the engine suddenly experienced a total loss of power, and the propeller stopped rotating. The pilots attempted to restart the engine, but the propeller would not rotate when the starter was engaged, and they were unable to restore engine power. The pilots then prepared for a forced landing and turned the airplane toward an oval-shaped car test track. As the airplane approached the test track, the pilots realized the sloped surface of the test track made it unsuitable to land on, and they turned the airplane toward flat desert terrain north of the track. During landing, the nose landing gear dug into the dirt, and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. As a result, the airplane sustained substantial damage to its empennage. The wreckage was retained for further examination.

## Sequence of events

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

- [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Pipistrel D O O ALPHA TRAINER, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=06001C6), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N246EA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N246EA-2026-07-21), registration cancelled 2026-07-21, S/N 1165 AT 912 LSA, built 2023 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPISTREL D O O ALPHA TRAINER
- Registry model: [Pipistrel D O O ALPHA TRAINER](https://openairdocs.org/model/pipistrel-d-o-o-alpha-trainer) (registry code 06001C6) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 912UL2](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912ul2) (registry code 55574, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 1165 AT 912 LSA
- Year built: 2023
- Airframe hours: 1883.4
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Instructional, Part 91
- Operator: Mesa Pilot Development LLC, doing business as Mesa Pilot Development
- Registered owner: Mesa Pilot Development LLC
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection: 100 hour, September 5, 2025, 87.6 hours before
- Departed: GEU, Glendale, AZ
- Equipment: Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Airframe parachute, Angle of attack indicator

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter: 88.29 inHg
- Observed at: BXK
- METAR: 	25/09/2025 13:55->	
METAR KBXK 251355Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 25/12 A2990 RMK AO2=

## 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 20250925014369A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250925014369A), Sep 25, 2025: Pipistrel D O O ALPHA TRAINER, Wickenburg, AZ, Substantial damage. Wickenburg, AZ: [privacy data omitted], Alpha Trainer, from geu, pilot reported engine issues and made an emergency landing in a desert area and flipped over.…

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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