Diamond Aircraft Industries DA40 accident near Leesburg, Virginia, April 16, 2005
On April 16, 2005 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA40, registered N127X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Leesburg, Virginia (Leesburg Executive 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilots lack of experience, and the uphill terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 16, 2005 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Leesburg, Virginia · Leesburg Executive Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Industries DA40
- Registration
- N127X · registry record · serial 40.438
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident took place during a solo flight, the student pilot was attempting to perform a landing on runway 35. During the "roundout," and prior to the flare, the airplane began to drift to the left side of the runway. The pilot attempted to correct, but was unable to maintain his position over the runway centerline. The airplane continued to drift over the grassy area on the west side of the runway, approaching the trees that bordered the airport. He then thought that because he did not have complete control of the airplane, it was time to end the flight by landing on the grassy area. The airplane impacted in up sloping terrain and was substantially damaged. Examination of the airplane's mechanical and flight control systems was conducted and control continuity was verified. No pre-accident malfunctions were discovered. At the time of the accident the pilot had accumulated approximately 38.7 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 39 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 99.3 hours
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360-M1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Av-Ed Flight School Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: JYO Leesburg VA at 6:45 pm
- Destination: JYO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.45 inHg
- Observation at 8:01 pm from JYO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N127X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 IAD05CA056.