Liberty XL2 N550XL

Summary

On 19 August 2007 at about 16:12 local time, a Liberty XL2 registered N550XL, operated by Ormond Beach Aviation, was involved in an accident near Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2007 at 16:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Ormond Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Ormond Beach Municipal Airport (OMN)

Coordinates

29.3036, -81.1136

Aircraft

Liberty XL2

Registration

N550XL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Ormond Beach Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ormond Beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07FA196

1 person was seriously injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during an attempted go-around.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the morning of the accident, the student pilot and the certificated flight instructor (CFI) flew to a local airport and back, and then conducted several takeoffs and landings. After refueling, the CFI released the student pilot for solo flight to continue practicing takeoffs and landings. The student pilot took off approximately 1/2- hour after his previous taxi-out, and in the intervening period, the wind had increased. The student pilot performed a go-around from a landing to runway 08 following his first landing attempt. According to air traffic control tower personnel, the student pilot's second landing attempt was also unsuccessful, and the student pilot initiated a second go-around. During the go-around, the airplane banked to the left, descended, and impacted the grass approximately 600 feet north of the east-west active runway. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot was seriously injured. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact failures or malfunctions. Winds about the time of the accident were from 070 degrees at 12 knots. All of the student pilot's flight time (27 total hours) was in the Liberty XL-2 (25 hours dual and 2 hours solo). Subsequent to the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a “Fact Finding Investigation Report” on the Liberty XL-2 airplane. The investigation was initiated in response to a complaint from a flight school alleging safety deficiencies, and not in response to this accident. The report concluded that “the airplane controls are more sensitive to other training airplanes, but the airplane meets 14 CFR part 23, subpart B [design certification] requirements and is an acceptable airplane for training.” The report also stated that the FAA “did not find any specific safety concerns that have not been addressed.” (This report was modified on June 19, 2009)

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.