Piper PA-23-160 N4085P

Summary

On 7 September 2025 at about 01:25 local time, a Piper PA-23-160 registered N4085P was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

7 September 2025 at 01:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Dona Ana County Intl Jetport (DNA)

Coordinates

31.8804, -106.7033

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-160

Registration

N4085P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Teresa → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA274

1 person was seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 6, 2025, about 1925 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-23-160, N4085P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that while the twin-engine airplane was being refueled, he completed his performance planning. Subsequently he entered the airplane, started both engines, taxied to the runup area and performed engine runup and magneto drop checks, with no abnormalities noted. After transmitting his intentions over the common traffic advisory frequency, he taxied onto runway 10 from taxiway A4, aligned the airplane on the runway centerline and applied full throttle on both engines. During the takeoff roll, he began to rotate about 87 knots and 1,600 ft into the takeoff roll. However, when the airplane lifted off of the runway, the airplane yawed to the left and was not climbing. He reported that he retracted the landing gear to reduce drag, lowered the nose to increase airspeed, and applied right rudder. He stated that he heard a decreasing engine noise, and assumed it was the left engine due to the left yaw and side slip, while he applied right rudder. While trying to keep the nose aligned with the runway centerline at an indicated airspeed between 90 knots to 100 knots, and less than 50 ft above ground level, the airplane had drifted left over the runway safety area and impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.