Diamond Aircraft Industries DA-20-C1 accident near Mesa, Arizona, November 24, 2007
On November 24, 2007 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA-20-C1, registered N4191D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mesa, Arizona (Falcon Field 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 student pilot's failure to maintain the proper glide path and misjudged flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 24, 2007 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mesa, Arizona · Falcon Field 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 DA-20-C1
- Registration
- N4191D · no longer on the register · serial C0408
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was practicing short-field landings. While on short final in a crab to compensate for the crosswind conditions, he realized that the airplane was below the glide path of the destination runway and began to flare in an effort to reduce the rapid rate of descent. The airplane landed hard on the left main landing gear and began an abrupt veer to the left of runway centerline. The left wing sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 59 hours in all; 59 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-240-B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FFZ Mesa AZ
- Destination: FFZ Mesa AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4L, 3,799 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
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.
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.