What happened
On April 11, 2025, at approximately 19:06 CDT, an experimental amateur-built Azalea Aviation LLC Saberwing, registration N121DF, was destroyed in an accident near Justin, Texas. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
The flight originated from Valdosta Regional Airport (VLD) in Valdosta, Georgia, with a scheduled stop at Ralph C. Weiser Field Airport (AGO) in Magnolia, Arkansas. The pilot arrived at AGO at approximately 16:21 CDT. Prior to the accident, the pilot had communicated with the airframe kit manufacturer via text, stating that the aircraft was performing well and that he intended to complete the flight to his home destination that day.
After departing AGO at approximately 17:05 CDT, the aircraft climbed to 4,300 feet MSL while heading west toward Propwash Airport (16X). Around 19:00 CDT, the aircraft began descending from 2,275 feet to 1,250 feet, performing maneuvers consistent with entering the airport traffic pattern. A witness at the airport observed the aircraft on the downwind leg for runway 35 at a low altitude before it initiated the turn to the base leg.
Witnesses in a residential area approximately 0.6 miles south of the airport observed the aircraft heading south and performing a left turn, at which point the left wing dropped and the aircraft inverted. One witness reported seeing the aircraft complete approximately 1.5 revolutions in a spin before disappearing behind a house. No witnesses observed the actual impact with the ground.
The aircraft came to rest upright in an open field roughly 0.5 miles southwest of the runway 3ered threshold. The engine was embedded ten inches into the soil, and a post-accident fire destroyed most of the airframe. The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury.