Evektor-Aerotechnik A S HARMONY LSA accident near Santa Ana, California, February 11, 2024
On February 11, 2024 at about 6:35 pm local time, a 2020 Evektor-Aerotechnik A S HARMONY LSA, registered N377YG, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Santa Ana, California (John Wayne/Orange County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of airplane control due to wake turbulence resulting from the instructor pilot’s decision to continue the landing into a drifting wake vortex.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 2024 · about 6:35 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Ana, California · John Wayne/Orange County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Evektor-Aerotechnik A S HARMONY LSA, built 2020 · all HARMONY LSAs on the register
- Registration
- N377YG · registry record · serial 20202131
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The light sport airplane (LSA) was on a day, visual flight rules approach to runway 20L when the tower controller cautioned the student pilot of possible wake turbulence from an airliner that was on approach to land on parallel runway 20R just ahead of the LSA. The student pilot in the LSA acknowledged the caution and continued the approach to land. About 40 ft above ground level (agl) and about 450 ft from the runway threshold, the accident airplane entered a rapid right roll, subsequently impacting the ground. Surveillance video of the accident showed that about 49 seconds before the accident, a narrow-body airliner made an approach and landed on runway 20R. The lateral distance between runway 20R and 20L was about 390 ft. The video then showed the LSA approach the runway 20L threshold and enter an uncommanded right roll. The prevailing wind about the time of the accident was 3 knots from 240°. The wake vortex generated by the landing airliner likely drifted to the parallel runway with the southwesterly wind, where it was subsequently encountered by the accident airplane as it approached runway 20L. FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 90-23G, section 11, noted that, when landing behind a larger aircraft on a parallel runway closer than 2,500 ft apart and considering the relationship between the runway threshold locations, the relative glideslope descent paths and possible vortex drift will likely prevent wake turbulence accidents of this nature. As the AC states, “The pilot should exercise vortex visualization and avoidance procedures using the same degree of awareness as in collision avoidance.” The pilot should have, as the AC states, established a glidepath to a touchdown point that was “above and beyond the touchdown point of the larger preceding aircraft.” Landing beyond the touchdown point of the larger preceding airplane would likely have averted the light sport airplane’s encounter with wake turbulence.
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
- Aircraft wake turb encounter during landing defining event
- Loss of control in flight during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Instructor/check pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Wake turbulence › Effect on equipment
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Incorrect use/operation
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 460 hours in all; 12.7 in this make and model; 30.2 in the last 90 days; 18.9 in the last 30 days; 66.9 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 30, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 13.7 hours in all; 12.7 in this make and model; 13.7 in the last 90 days; 6.1 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 601.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 4, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Bombardier Rotax 912 iSc (piston); 172 hours total
- Operator: Sunrise Aviation Company
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02R/, 2,886 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 10:44 am from KSNA
Weather report (METAR): SPECI KSNA 111844Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 17/M01 A3021 RMK AO2 T01671011
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | |||
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
9 documents, released by the NTSB on February 19, 2026. 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, 12 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Record of Conversation -cfi and Mr. Beining | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation -witness | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Wx Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | FAA Advisory Circular 90-23G W/ Highlighted Excerpts | PDF, 24 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Memorandum for Record -tower Communications | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Investigative Photographs and Images | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Accident Sequence Video | video | View Download |
| 9 | Release of Wreckage Form | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 WPR24LA085.