Liberty Aerospace Inc. XL2 accident near Ormond Beach, Florida, August 19, 2007
On August 19, 2007 at about 4:12 pm local time, a Liberty Aerospace Inc. XL2, registered N550XL, was destroyed in an accident near Ormond Beach, Florida (Ormond Beach Municipal Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during an attempted go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 2007 · about 4:12 pm local time
- Place
- Ormond Beach, Florida · Ormond Beach Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Liberty Aerospace Inc. XL2
- Registration
- N550XL · no longer on the register · serial 0039
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On the morning of the accident, the student pilot and the certificated flight instructor (CFI) flew to a local airport and back, and then conducted several takeoffs and landings. After refueling, the CFI released the student pilot for solo flight to continue practicing takeoffs and landings. The student pilot took off approximately 1/2- hour after his previous taxi-out, and in the intervening period, the wind had increased. The student pilot performed a go-around from a landing to runway 08 following his first landing attempt. According to air traffic control tower personnel, the student pilot's second landing attempt was also unsuccessful, and the student pilot initiated a second go-around. During the go-around, the airplane banked to the left, descended, and impacted the grass approximately 600 feet north of the east-west active runway. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot was seriously injured. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact failures or malfunctions. Winds about the time of the accident were from 070 degrees at 12 knots. All of the student pilot's flight time (27 total hours) was in the Liberty XL-2 (25 hours dual and 2 hours solo). Subsequent to the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a “Fact Finding Investigation Report” on the Liberty XL-2 airplane. The investigation was initiated in response to a complaint from a flight school alleging safety deficiencies, and not in response to this accident. The report concluded that “the airplane controls are more sensitive to other training airplanes, but the airplane meets 14 CFR part 23, subpart B [design certification] requirements and is an acceptable airplane for training.” The report also stated that the FAA “did not find any specific safety concerns that have not been addressed.” (This report was modified on June 19, 2009)
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: 27 hours in all; 27 in this make and model; 27 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 200 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 1,653 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental IOF-240-B4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Ormond Beach Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: OMN Ormond Beach FL
- Destination: OMN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 08, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 10 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 81°F (27°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 4:45 pm from OMN
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 N550XL the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.