History of Flight
On June 9, 2020, about 2023 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Zenith 601HDS, registration N6402X, was destroyed when it struck terrain near Ak-Chin Regional Airport (A39), Maricopa, Arizona. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot was based at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT). According to his wife, he often flew at night to observe and photograph the night sky, and A39 was his typical refueling stop.
Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed the airplane departed DVT about 1958 and flew south-southeast toward the Class B airspace of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). The pilot requested and received clearance to transit the airspace at 4,500 ft. By 2013, the airplane had cleared the airspace southbound and continued directly toward A39. At 2021, it reached A39 and flew over the airport at 2,000 ft msl (700 ft agl). Over the next two minutes, the airplane made a sweeping left turn with a radius of about 1.25 miles, during which it climbed to about 2,175 ft and descended to 1,700 ft. The last ADS-B target showed the airplane at 1,700 ft, about 250 ft south of the 1,735 ft peak of an isolated hill, about 2 miles east of the approach end of runway 22.
A Piper PA28 pilot, also inbound to A39, reported he was ahead of N6402X and saw it on his ADS-B receiver. Both pilots communicated their positions during the approach. The PA28 pilot overflew the airport above pattern altitude intending to join left traffic for runway 22. As he entered the downwind leg, he observed N6402X fly over the runway in trail but well below pattern altitude. Concerned, he shortened his downwind leg and heard the other pilot report being on base leg. After landing, the PA28 pilot could not see or hear N6402X and contacted Flight Service to report it missing. He described the conditions as very dark, with only a faint blue horizon, and the desert east of the airport as unpopulated, unlit, with no visible terrain features.
The wreckage was located on the southeast face of the hill, about 10 ft below the peak. Security camera video from 0.75 miles south showed the airplane flying directly over the camera toward the hill. As it neared the peak, its landing lights briefly illuminated the terrain just before impact. No smoke or vapors were observed.
The pilot's wife stated he carried a SPOT tracking device; she checked it when he had not returned by midnight. The device indicated his last location at 2022, about 2 miles east of A39.
Personnel Information
Review of the pilot's last four flights showed they were all at night, including flights between DVT and A39.
Aircraft Information
Examination of the wreckage and maintenance logbooks revealed no terrain awareness flight instruments. Impact damage and postaccident fire prevented accurate assessment of the altimeter's operational status.
Meteorological Information
Sunset and end of civil twilight occurred at 1935 and 2005, respectively. At the time of the accident, the moon was at azimuth 224°, altitude 20°, with 84% of its visible disk illuminated.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was near the peak of a 1,735 ft hill on the western edge of a sparsely populated, unlit area about 20 miles south of the Phoenix suburbs. The airplane came to rest on a north-northwest heading. The cabin fragmented and was consumed by fire, along with most contents and all flight instruments. Both wings sustained 45° crush damage to their undersides through the main spar but remained attached. The empennage was largely undamaged. Airframe and engine examination revealed no anomalies precluding normal operation. The propeller spinner showed compression and scoring opposite the direction of rotation; composite blades were consumed, but steel torsional rods had bending damage opposite rotation.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot held a third-class medical certificate with a corrective-lens requirement. His most recent FAA medical exam was on May 4, 2020, with no reported medications or conditions. An autopsy by the Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death as massive blunt force trauma and thermal injury, with manner of death accident. Examination limited by extensive injuries revealed mild to moderate coronary artery disease (50% stenosis in left anterior descending, 60% to 70% stenosis in left main). No other significant natural disease was identified. Toxicology tests by the FAA and Pinal County found no screened drugs or alcohol.