NYC07FA196 · Liberty Aerospace Inc. XL2

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)

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset