N2470D – Piper PA38 – 2020-06-07 NTSB Accident Report

On June 07, 2020, a Piper PA38 (N2470D) was involved in an incident near Cumberland, MD. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing and the subsequent go-around in gusting crosswind conditions.

The pilot reported that after a stabilized approach to land, during the touchdown a gust of wind caused the left wing to raise and go "vertical" or "knife edge." He immediately applied full power to go-around, however, the airplane was banking and drifting to the right and before the airplane could climb, it impacted terrain to the right of the runway and skidded down a ravine. The left and right wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane.About the time of the accident the weather observation at the airport included wind from a heading of 320° at 9 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The calculated crosswind component for the landing on runway 5 was 14 knots.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA20CA209. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N2470D.