Skip to content

ERA20CA095

2020-02-07 · Baltimore, Maryland, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BWI

Current FAA registration · N988FX

Make / Model
CESSNA 208B
Year of manufacture
2012 · 8 years old at event
Engine
P&W CANADA PT6A-114A (675 hp)
Seats / Engines
12 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20120926
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ADC96F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the approach lights during an instrument approach.

Factual narrative

The pilot was conducting an instrument landing system approach in night instrument meteorological conditions to the destination airport. The pilot was utilizing the autopilot for the approach and disengaged it when he had the runway and airport lighting system in view. As he approached the runway, the pilot heard a sound and thought the airplane had hit a bird. He felt the airplane pitch up so he increased engine power and pitched down in order to reach the runway. After the pilot landed and taxied to the ramp, he saw that a large piece of an approach light was caught on the airplane's right main landing gear. Further inspection revealed that the airplane's empennage, right horizontal stabilizer, right wing strut, and front cargo pod were also damaged. The operator reported that the airplane had struck four separate approach light towers as well as a localizer antenna. The pilot was conducting an instrument landing system approach in night instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot was using the autopilot for the approach to the destination airport and disengaged it when he had the runway and airport lighting system in view. The pilot reported that, as he approached the runway, he heard a sound and thought the airplane had hit a bird. He felt the airplane pitch up, so he increased engine power and pitched down to reach the runway. After the pilot landed and taxied to the ramp, he saw that a large piece of an approach light was caught on the right main landing gear. Further examination revealed that the empennage, right horizontal stabilizer, right wing strut, and front cargo pod had sustained substantial damage. The operator reported that the airplane had struck four approach light towers and a localizer antenna. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA095.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (autopilot). All research papers