Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-A1 accident near Sanford, Maine, July 15, 1999
On July 15, 1999 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-A1, registered N404EC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sanford, Maine (Sanford Regional 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 control of the airplane
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 15, 1999 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Sanford, Maine · Sanford Regional Airport
- 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-A1
- Registration
- N404EC · registry record · serial 10-322
- 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 touch and go landings. On her second or third landing, she applied power, and the airplane veered to the left. She applied right rudder, but the airplane continued to veer left, off the side of the runway, and onto the grass. She then reduced power, but the airplane continued across the grass and came to rest in a ditch. The student pilot had approximately 55 hours of flight experience.
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: 58 hours in all; 49 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 10 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 675 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 21, 1999; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,609 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912F3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BED Bedford MA at 2:00 pm
- Destination: SFM
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 32, 4,999 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 pm from KSF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N404EC 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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 NYC99LA176.