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BFO91LA026

1991-02-03 · HARRISONBURG, Virginia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SHD

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS PREMATURE RAISING OF THE FLAPS, AND INADEQUATE AIRSPEED.

Factual narrative

THE APPROACH WAS FLOWN USING FULL FLAPS AT AN AIRSPEED OF 70 MPH. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, DURING THE LANDING FLARE THE AIRCRAFT FLOATED ABOUT 5 FEET OVER THE RUNWAY. HE APPLIED SOME POWER TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED, BUT BECAUSE OF THE EFFECT OF ENGINE TORQUE, THE AIRCRAFT BANKED TO THE LEFT. HE DECIDED TO ABORT THE LANDING AND APPLIED FULL POWER. HE RAISED THE FLAPS AND LEVELED THE WINDS, BUT THE AIRCRAFT BANKED AND YAWED LEFT. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A DIRT BANK OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND CRASHED. THE PILOT REPORTED NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_BFO91LA026.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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