Piper PA38 N2470D

Summary

On 7 June 2020 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA38 registered N2470D was involved in an accident near Cumberland, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 June 2020 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Greater Cumberland Rgnl (CBE)

Coordinates

39.6139, -78.7569

Aircraft

Piper PA38

Registration

N2470D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manassas → Cumberland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA209

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing and the subsequent go-around in gusting crosswind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after a stabilized approach to land, during the touchdown a gust of wind caused the left wing to raise and go "vertical" or "knife edge." He immediately applied full power to go-around, however, the airplane was banking and drifting to the right and before the airplane could climb, it impacted terrain to the right of the runway and skidded down a ravine. The left and right wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane. About the time of the accident the weather observation at the airport included wind from a heading of 320° at 9 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The calculated crosswind component for the landing on runway 5 was 14 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.