Diamond DA20 N397JA
29 September 2018 · Sebring, Florida, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 29 September 2018 at about 16:40 local time, a Diamond DA20 registered N397JA, operated by Aamro Aviation Corporation, was involved in an accident near Sebring, Florida, United States. 4 people were 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.
The record
- Date
- at 16:40
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Sebring, Florida, United States
- Nearest airport
- Sebring Regional Airport (SEF)
- Coordinates
- 27.4586, -81.3431
- Aircraft
- Diamond DA20
- Registration
- N397JA
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2003
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Aamro Aviation Corporation
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Sebring → Sebring
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA18LA268
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Probable cause
The inability of the pilot of the Piper and the student pilot and flight instructor of the Diamond to see and avoid the other airplane. Contributing to the collision was the Piper pilot’s failure to use the correct common traffic advisory frequency to announce his airplane's position.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The private pilot of the Piper airplane with a passenger on board was landing while the student pilot of the Diamond airplane with a flight instructor on board was performing touch-and-go landings on an intersecting runway in day visual meteorological conditions. Both airplanes were flying in left traffic patterns for their respective runways at the uncontrolled airport. The pilot of the Piper and the student pilot of the Diamond stated that they announced every leg of the traffic pattern on the airport's published common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). The Diamond landed, and just when the student was adding power to initiate a takeoff, the left wing of the Piper, which was landing and flaring just a few feet above the runway, impacted the tail of the Diamond. The flight instructor in the Diamond said he was looking for the Piper after he saw it flying in the vicinity of the airport but that he never saw it in the airport traffic pattern, while the pilot of the Piper did not report seeing the Diamond until just before the collision. Recordings of the airport's CTAF showed that radio calls from the Diamond were heard for every leg of the airport traffic pattern on the published CTAF frequency before the collision, but only two garbled radio calls from the Piper were heard on the published CTAF frequency. Postaccident examination of the Piper's transceiver revealed that it was set to a different frequency. The Piper's transceiver was then set to the correct CTAF frequency, and the communication was clear. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot of the Piper failed to use the correct CTAF frequency when he announced his airplane's position in the airport traffic pattern.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond DA20 C1 | N397JA | Aamro Aviation Corporation | Substantial |
| Piper PA28R 180 | N3907T | - | Substantial |
Other Diamond DA20 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Dec 2018 | Diamond DA20 | McCormick, South Carolina, United States | Falcon Aviation Academy Llc | Minor injuries | - |
| 28 Oct 2018 | Diamond DA20 | Mountain Rest, South Carolina, United States | Falcon Aviation Academy Llc | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jul 2018 | Diamond DA20 | Van Nuys, California, United States | Amval Llc | No injuries | - |
| 7 Aug 2019 | Diamond DA20 | Pueblo, Colorado, United States | Doss Aviation Inc | No injuries | - |
| 20 Sep 2019 | Diamond DA20 | Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 7 Jun 2019 | Diamond DA20 | Terre Haute, Indiana, United States | Indiana State University | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Apr 2018 | Sasser Allen L SEAREY | Welaka, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Nov 2018 | Maule MX7 | Immokalee, Florida, United States | Ave Av Llc | No injuries | - |
| 17 Aug 2018 | Beechcraft 35 | Mayport, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 25 Jan 2018 | Foxfly FOXDOMINATOR | Indiantown, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 2018 | S Z D SZD 48 JANTAR STD 2 | LaBelle, Florida, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 13 Dec 2018 | Czech Sport Aircraft As PIPER SPORT | Punta Gorda, Florida, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |