Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-C1 accident near Santaquin, Utah, October 11, 2007
On October 11, 2007 at about 9:50 pm local time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-C1, registered N465US, was substantially damaged in an accident near Santaquin, Utah. It was an instructional 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Factors include rough/uneven vegetation-covered terrain at the location where the pilot executed his emergency forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 2007 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- Santaquin, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-C1
- Registration
- N465US · registry record · serial C0405
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
As part of a series of solo flight training maneuvers, the student pilot was terminating a slow flight sequence when he added power in order to accelerate. Soon thereafter the engine lost all power, and the pilot, who had been using the required low speed fuel pump setting, was unable to get it restarted. He executed an emergency forced landing in a nearby field. During the landing roll on the rough/uneven terrain, the nose gear was torn from the airplane structure when it impacted some high vegetation. A series of extensive engine test runs and inspections did not find any anomalies or malfunctions that would have contributed to a loss of engine power. The airplane's fuel tanks contained 17 gallons of fuel.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 42 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 7 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 100 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,784 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-240-B17B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: U77 Spanish Fork UT at 9:30 pm
- Destination: U77
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 9:55 pm from KPVU, 10 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N465US the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.