Piper Aircraft INC PA 46-350P accident near Queen Creek, Arizona, October 20, 2025
On October 20, 2025, a 2013 Piper Aircraft INC PA 46-350P, registered N699PG, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach (VFR pattern final) near Queen Creek, Arizona. 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 improper runway alignment and failure to maintain clearance from powerlines. Contributing to the accident was sun glare, which obscured the pilot’s view of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2025
- Place
- Queen Creek, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper Aircraft INC PA 46-350P, built 2013
- Registration
- N699PG · registry record · serial 4636600
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he was conducting a cross-country flight to an airport he had flown to a few days earlier. According to the pilot, during an approach his selected destination runway on the accident flight, his forward view was significantly obscured by a sun glare. He aligned the airplane to land on what he initially thought was the runway, which he later identified as an irrigation canal. As the airplane descended toward the canal, the pilot observed high-tension transmission lines immediately ahead and at about the same altitude. He maneuvered the airplane in an aggressive descent in an attempt to fly under the powerlines. He reported feeling “a thud” and immediately increased power, retracted the landing gear and flaps, and maneuvered the airplane into a climb. The pilot ascertained the airplane was flying normally and decided to divert to a familiar airport about 16 miles away. As the airplane was on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane rolled aggressively to the left. In response, the pilot used aileron control inputs to compensate and landed the airplane without further incident. After exiting the airplane, the pilot observed that the rudder and most of the vertical stabilizer were separated from the airplane. Local law enforcement located the missing airplane parts in the immediate vicinity of an impacted transmission line and observed a paint signature matching the airplane’s paint on one of the transmission lines. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Surveillance video obtained from a nearby hospital with a view of the accident site captured the airplane flying at a low altitude, with the rudder and most of the vertical stabilizer missing. The surveillance video showed the airplane passing the transmission towers at about 17:53:30; ADS-B data also indicated the airplane passed the transmission towers at about 17:53:30. At that time, the sun’s azimuth was 267° and its elevation was slightly below the horizon at -1.19°. (See Figure 2). The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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 approach (VFR pattern final) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Glare › Effect on personnel
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Wire › Ability to respond/compensate
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Wire › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all
- Last flight review: April 28, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KSOW Show Low AZ
- Destination: 5AZ3 Queen Creek AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from KIWA, 6 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KIWA 200052Z 24006KT 10SM CLR 27/07 A2996
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on February 12, 2026. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigation Photos | PDF, 6 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 3 | Hospital Surveillance Video Camera | video | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 WPR26LA025.