Amateur-built Aircamper SDE accident near Sahuarita, Arizona, December 21, 2007
On December 21, 2007, a amateur-built Aircamper SDE, registered N7229R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sahuarita, Arizona (Flying Diamond airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed. A contributing factor was the pilot's distraction due to the presence of an automobile, which appeared to encroach upon the runway environment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 21, 2007
- Place
- Sahuarita, Arizona · Flying Diamond · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Aircamper SDE
- Registration
- N7229R · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot observed a car approaching the runway when he was on short final approach for landing at the uncontrolled airport. It appeared to the pilot that the car would cross the runway at midfield just about the time he would be on the landing rollout crossing the same area. The pilot abruptly applied full throttle; however, the engine's power did not increase. The pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed to touchdown normally, which resulted in a hard landing. Thereafter, the airplane veered off the runway and came to rest with a bent airframe.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 161 hours in all; 53 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A-65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6AZ8 Sahuarita AZ
- Destination: 6AZ8 AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 2,650 ft by 35 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX08CA040.