- Date
- June 19, 2022, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gaithersburg, MD · runway 32
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2512NPiper PA-38-112
- 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
- 20220619010689A
- Case key
- 105360
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 control during the landing flare in gusting wind conditions.
Findings · 3
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 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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2512N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0856
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 4,150.2
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 2021 · 267.1 hours before
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- GAI · Montgomery County Airpark, runway 32, 4,202 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 28
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 23, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 271 total · 18 in this make and model · 207 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot-rated passenger
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 11 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- GAI
- METAR
- KGAI 191556Z AUTO 30011G21KT 270V010 10SM CLR 20/07 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP206 T02000067
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 8, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 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.