- Date
- January 25, 2022, 07:28 local (14:28 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Carson, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N974DADiamond Aircraft Ind DA20-C1
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Windshear or thunderstorm
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220125000829A
- Case key
- 104571
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The windshear encounter on short final approach, which resulted in an excessive decent rate and ground impact.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that he and the student pilot were conducting touch-and-go landings. As the pilot turned from base to final, a “fairly significant crosswind” that had shifted while they were in the traffic pattern, pushed the airplane left of the runway centerline. After realigning the airplane with the extended runway centerline, right aileron and “nearly full left rudder deflection” were required to stay on course. When the airplane was on short final, about 200 ft agl, it encountered windshear and descended rapidly impacting the ground about 200 ft short of the runway threshold. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts. The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that he took control of the airplane to initiate a go-around but was unable to arrest the descent before ground impact. About the time of the accident, the student pilot was landing on runway 31 with wind from 360o at 9 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N974DA
- Reported as
- Diamond Aircraft Ind DA20-C1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- C0484
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 8,371.3
- Engine
- Continental Motors IO-240-B32B, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Cae-Doss
- Registered owner
- L3 Doss Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · November 5, 2021
- Departed
- KPUB · Pueblo, CO
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FCS · Butts Aaf (Fort Carson), runway 31, 4,500 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 12, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,744 total · 1,036 in this make and model · 2,732 as pilot in command
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 31 total · 18 in this make and model · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 17 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KFCS
- METAR
- KFCS 251439Z 02017G22KT 10SM SCT034 M03/M08 A2997 RMK SLP199 $
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 9, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.