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ERA22LA286

2022-06-19 · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GAI

Current FAA registration · N2512N

Make / Model
PIPER PA-38-112
Year of manufacture
1979 · 43 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19790402
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A25DE0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain control during the landing flare in gusting wind conditions.

Factual narrative

The pilot was landing the airplane in gusting wind conditions. He reported that during the landing flare he encountered wind shear that pushed the airplane down and to the right. The airplane landed hard on the grass adjacent to the right of the runway. At 1156, the recorded weather at GAI included wind from 300° magnetic at 11 knots, gusting to 21 knots, and the pilot landed on runway 32. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the main landing gear and engine cowling. The pilot reported no preaccident 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.

  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Contributed to outcome
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA22LA286.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 (wind shear). All research papers