Orlican L60 N71GC

Summary

On 21 February 2020 at about 17:15 local time, a Orlican L60 registered N71GC, operated by Deutsch American Trading Llc, was involved in an accident near Frederick, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 February 2020 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Frederick, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Frederick Muni (FDK)

Coordinates

39.4175, -77.3742

Aircraft

Orlican L60

Registration

N71GC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Deutsch American Trading Llc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Frederick → Frederick

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA107

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the approach, which resulted in the airplane ballooning and then veering left upon landing and the right wing impacting the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was practicing landings as part of a check-out flight. During the final approach, the airplane ballooned slightly, which the pilot attributed to a wind gust. He flared the balloon and then touched down, and the airplane began to veer left. He attempted to correct with full right rudder, right brake, and left aileron. As the airplane came to a stop on the runway, the right main landing gear buckled, and the right wing struck the runway. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was calm; however, the pilot reported that, after he egressed from the airplane, he saw that the windsock indicated a crosswind. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.