A small plane that crashed into two Phoenix homes last month, injuring three people, appeared to have lost engine power moments after takeoff, federal investigators said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report that the Piper PA-28-140 experienced rapidly declining engine performance shortly after departing from Deer Valley Airport on March 4, forcing the instructor to attempt an emergency return.
The aircraft, carrying a flight instructor and student pilot, had climbed to roughly 1,700 feet before turning back toward the airport. But the plane was unable to make it.
The engine’s RPM dropped to about 600 to 700 and began vibrating before briefly stabilizing, the report said. Despite the pilot’s efforts to restore power, the engine continued to deteriorate before it completely failed just 5 to 10 seconds before impact.
SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO PHOENIX HOME MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF, INJURING 3
Investigators reviewed home surveillance footage from the neighborhood that shows the small plane flying low over houses before it entered a shallow right turn, dropping its right wing. The wing struck the roof of a home before slamming into an exterior wall of a second home next door. The plane came to rest in the backyard of the second home.
Aerial footage of the aftermath showed wreckage scattered across the roof, including the plane’s right wing still lodged in the roof, while the fuselage sat crumpled in the backyard.
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The crash shocked residents, one of whom described the impact to FOX10 Phoenix as sounding like "a bomb went off."
The NTSB said weather conditions were clear at the time, ruling out environmental factors and pointing attention toward mechanical issues as a key focus of the investigation.
Investigators are now examining the engine and wreckage, which has been recovered to a secure facility, to determine what caused the loss of power.
