N25WL

On August 6, 2023, about 1230 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built White Lightning airplane, N25WL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, he was flying from Boulder, Colorado, to his home airport of Ohkay Owingeh (E14), Espanola, New Mexico. After maneuvering to avoid clouds in his flight path, he flew toward Las Vegas Municipal Airport (LVS), Las Vegas, New Mexico, with the intent to continue on toward E14. As he passed LVS, he noted that the airspeed was decreasing and the airplane was not maintaining altitude, but the engine was still running. He turned back toward LVS and conducted a forced landing on a dirt road. During the landing roll, the left wing impacted a fence and the airplane spun to a stop in a field.

The pilot, who owned the airplane, recovered the airplane and disposed of the wreckage and engine. The engine, which was fuel injected, was sold to a repair facility; repeated attempts to gather additional information from this facility were unsuccessful. According to the pilot, the repair facility inspected the engine and found no mechanical anomalies.