Skip to content

ERA20CA158

2020-04-22 · Athens, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AHN

Current FAA registration · N1115

Make / Model
AMERICAN LEGEND AIRCRAFT CO AL3
Year of manufacture
2006 · 14 years old at event
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A032F1

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after an aborted landing, which resulted in collision with trees.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during the landing roll the airplane started to veer left, concerned the airplane may ground-loop. He decided to abort the landing and applied full engine power The airplane became airborne, continued to drift left and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, during the landing roll, the airplane started to veer left and that, because he was concerned that it may ground loop, he decided to abort the landing and applied full engine power. The airplane became airborne, continued to drift left, and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA158.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.