Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1 accident near Mesa, Arizona, July 13, 2013
On July 13, 2013 at about 8:47 pm local time, a 2008 Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1, registered N4111T, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi near Mesa, Arizona (Falcon Field Airport). 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
The student pilot’s failure to monitor and maintain clearance while taxiing, which resulted in collision with the parked airplane. Contributing to the accident was the parked airplane’s insufficient distance from the taxiway centerline.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 13, 2013 · about 8:47 pm local time
- Place
- Mesa, Arizona · Falcon Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1 C0499, built 2008
- Registration
- N4111T · no longer on the register · serial C0499
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While the student pilot was taxiing the airplane to depart on his first solo flight, its right wing collided with the right wing of a parked airplane. The student reported that, while taxiing, his attention was focused on the airplanes parked left of the taxiway centerline and that he did not see the airplane parked in a nonmovement area to his right. The parked airplane was positioned near a hangar and was about 14 feet away from the taxiway centerline, which was too close to the centerline because it provided about 4 feet less distance than required for the student's airplane to clear the parked airplane if he followed the centerline.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during taxi
- Ground collision during taxi defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring other aircraft › Student pilot
- factor Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Aircraft › Contributed to outcome
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 68 hours in all; 68 in this make and model; 34 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,854 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 17, 2013; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,764 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-240-B (piston); 2,716 hours total
- Operator: Cae Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: FFZ Mesa AZ
- Destination: FFZ Mesa AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 18,000 ft
- Temperature: 102°F (39°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 8:47 pm from FFZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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 N4111T 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.