Mace Justin I DRAGONFLY N764JM

Summary

On 9 October 2012 at about 17:30 local time, a Mace Justin I DRAGONFLY registered N764JM was involved in an accident near Durango, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 2012 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Durango, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Animas Air Park (00C)

Coordinates

37.2100, -107.8667

Aircraft

Mace Justin I DRAGONFLY

Registration

N764JM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albuquerque → Durango

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA026

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s delayed decision to perform a go-around, which resulted in the airplane impacting trees. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inexperience in the accident airplane and his encounter with conditions that exceeded his capabilities.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during each of three previous attempts to land at the destination airport, he encountered turbulence just before the airplane touched down and decided to perform go-arounds. He stated that during the accident landing, the airplane was not properly aligned with the runway centerline before touchdown due to his “over-correction of the rudder.” The pilot applied power to perform another go-around, and the airplane began to “porpoise” as the pilot attempted to climb away from the runway. The airplane collided with trees, and the wing and canard sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further stated that he was inexperienced in the accident airplane in turbulence near ground level and that he should have revised his destination to an airport with a wider runway and no nearby trees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.