American Legend AL3 accident near Athens, Georgia, April 22, 2020
On April 22, 2020 at about 9:00 pm local time, a 2006 American Legend AL3, registered N1115, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (aborted after touchdown) near Athens, Georgia (Athens/Ben Epps airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after an aborted landing, which resulted in collision with trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 2020 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Athens, Georgia · Athens/Ben Epps · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American Legend AL3, built 2006
- Registration
- N1115 · registry record · serial AL-1042
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, during the landing roll, the airplane started to veer left and that, because he was concerned that it may ground loop, he decided to abort the landing and applied full engine power. The airplane became airborne, continued to drift left, and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing (aborted after touchdown)
- Loss of control in flight during landing (aborted after touchdown) defining event
- Collision during takeoff/land during landing (aborted after touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tree(s) › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 245.1 hours in all; 35.5 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 245.1 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 15, 2019
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 675 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 675 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AHN Athens GA at 8:00 pm
- Destination: AHN Athens GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 6,122 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from AHN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA20CA158.