Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA20-C1 accident near Culpeper, Virginia, February 15, 2025
On February 15, 2025 at about 2:30 pm local time, a 2006 Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA20-C1, registered N373AM, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Culpeper, Virginia (Culpeper Rgnl airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll, resulting in a runway excursion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 15, 2025 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Culpeper, Virginia · Culpeper Rgnl · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA20-C1, built 2006
- Registration
- N373AM · registry record · serial C0379
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Following an uneventful flight and taxi back to the runway, the student pilot reported that when he applied takeoff power, the airplane began to veer to the left. He applied right rudder, but the control input was ineffective. He then reduced the power to idle and applied both brakes, but the airplane exited the left side of the runway and came to rest in a drainage ditch. The pilot was uninjured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the flight controls, braking system, or the nose wheel 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 takeoff defining event
- Runway excursion during takeoff (rejected takeoff)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Attain/maintain not possible
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 37.7 hours in all; 35.3 in this make and model; 3.9 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days; 0.7 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,702.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 7, 2025; 56.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,764 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental Aerospace Technolo IO-240-b (piston); 57 hours total
- Operator: Ka Holdings LLC
The flight
- Departed from: FEF Manassas VA
- Destination: CJR Culpepper VA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 22, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,700 ft; ovct
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from CJR
Weather report (METAR): METAR KCJR 151935Z AUTO 17003KT 5SM UP OVC027 02/00 A3018 RMK AO2 P0003 T00220000
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 4 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Airplane Postaccident
Photograph 2 – Pedestal structure accident damage
Photograph 3 – Lower vertical stabilizer accident damage
Photograph 4 – Firewall structure accident damageThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on August 21, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum of Record - Inspector | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 5 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.