- Date
- November 28, 2020, 11:43 local (16:43 UTC)
- Place
- Georgetown, DE · On Airport - East of Runway 4
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7596BChampion 7FC
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20201128018869A
- Case key
- 102353
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 pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while on landing in gusting crosswind conditions.
Findings · 2
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
While about 10 feet above the runway during landing, the airplane was struck by a gust of wind that pushed it to the right of the runway centerline while banking it to the right. The pilot responded by applying left rudder and full engine power to initiate a go-around. The airplane continued to descend, and the right wing impacted the ground, substantially damaging it. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7596B
- Reported as
- Champion 7FC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7FC-94
- Built
- 1957
- Engine
- Continental C90-12, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LNS · Lancaster, PA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- GED · Delaware Coastal Airport, runway 4, 5,500 × 150 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 73
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 10, 2019
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 6,302 total · 359 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- KGED
- METAR
- KGED 281654Z AUTO 28006G16KT 10SM CLR 15/05 A3003 RMK AO2 SLP169 T01500050 $
Docket · 7
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 18, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.