Diamond DA 20 N781MA

Summary

On 31 October 2016 at about 00:15 local time, a Diamond DA 20 registered N781MA was involved in an accident near Bristow, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 October 2016 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bristow, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Manassas Rgnl/Harry P Davis Fi (HEF)

Coordinates

38.7211, -77.5150

Aircraft

Diamond DA 20

Registration

N781MA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charlottesville → Bristow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA055

1 person had minor injuries.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full 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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.