What happened
On March 22, 2025, at approximately 09:25 EDT, an Aero SP Z O O AT-4 LSA, registration N8548U, was involved in a fatal accident near Zellwood, Florida. The aircraft was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal flight.
According to witness accounts, the aircraft had just departed from Bob White Field (X61). One witness observed the airplane taxiing to the departure end of runway 27 and waving to the pilot, noting the aircraft appeared normal and the canopy was down. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane suddenly descended and struck the ground at the end of the runway. The impact caused the aircraft to catch fire.
The aircraft came to rest inverted in a drainage ditch at the western end of the runway. The impact crater was approximately 6 feet long, oriented on a 285° heading. The wreckage was distributed across the site, with the pilot's seatbelt, canopy, windscreen, magnetic compass, and one propeller blade located away from the main wreckage. The pilot's seatbelt remained latched at the buckle.
The investigation
Post-impact inspection revealed that the composite fuselage and cockpit instrumentation were destroyed by fire. While the control cables and tubes showed continuity from the flight surfaces to the control yanks and rudder pedals, the empennage had separated from the fuselage. The landing gear components were displaced, and the nose gear was separated from the wreckage.
The four-cylinder engine sustained fire damage. Investigators found that the intake system had separated from the cylinder heads on the left side, and the engine magneto was dislodged and destroyed by fire. There were no external signs of catastrophic engine failure, and the crankshaft rotated approximately 30° when force was applied.
The three-blade carbon fiber propeller was heavily damaged; one blade was broken at the hub and found 120 feet from the wreckage, another was splintered, and a third was broken at the hub near the engine.
Maintenance records indicated that the aircraft's most recent annual inspection had been completed on March 18, 2025. A witness noted that the pilot had requested assistance securing the lower cowling following that inspection.