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ERA21LA050

2020-11-19 · Cynthiana, Kentucky, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 0I8

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain proper glide path during a visual approach that was conducted at night, resulting in a collision with trees and terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot was approaching the destination airport for landing at night. On short final approach to the runway, he observed he was slightly low via the precision approach path indicator (PAPI) lights. Due to a 20-knot crosswind, the pilot was attempting to maintain runway centerline and entered an inadvertent slip, subsequently losing 20ft of altitude. As he looked up, he saw all red on the PAPI lights and reached to the throttle to reacquire the glideslope. He then observed the treetops in front of the propeller and the airplane contacted the trees. The airplane subsequently the ground and came to a stop. The airplane’s fuselage, both wings, and empennage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of 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.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Contributed to outcome
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA21LA050.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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