Pilot Debrief

DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA 20 near Bristow, VA — 2016-10-31

Final reportGAA17CA055
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Date
2016-10-31
Location
Bristow, VA, USA
Airport
HEF
Aircraft
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA 20
Registration
N781MA
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of directional control during a landing attempt at night, which resulted in a delayed go-around procedure and subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of recent flight experience.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, after multiple previous landings that night to runway 34L, the airplane was thrown "off course" after it encountered a crosswind. The pilot pulled the power off briefly during the landing, and the airplane touched down. However, he reported that he made a late decision to go around and reapplied the power to establish a climb. He added that the airplane was "off course" at a low airspeed and that he applied full power, but he panicked and reduced his right rudder application, and the airplane veered to the left. The airplane stalled and impacted the ground, the nose landing gear became embedded in the mud, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing root and empennage. According to the airport security camera video, the airplane descended over runway 34L and made an immediate sharp left 270° turn to the left of the runway heading and rapidly ascended. After the sharp left turn, the airplane was airborne for about 534 ft before impacting the ground and nosing over. White paint transfer markings observed on the runway surface and damage to the airplane's left wing indicated that the airplane had impacted the runway surface during the accident sequence. About 25 minutes before the accident, the published METAR for the accident airport reported that the wind was from 320° at 6 knots. There were no reported wind gusts at the time of the accident, and there were no published wind gusts at the airport for the remainder of the day. The pilot reported that he had 99 hours of total flight time, 78 hours of which were in the accident airplane make and model, and 4 hours of which were within the 90 days before the accident. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the landing earlier instead of making a late go-around decision.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Video
  • Photos
  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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