CEN18LA014 · Diamond Aircraft IND Inc DA 40

The private pilot was maneuvering to land at the destination airport after a cross-country flight in dark night, visual meteorological conditions. The pilot reported that he became disoriented as he orbited the airport waiting for the airport manager to turn on the runway lights, which resulted in him believing that he was on final approach to runway 1 instead of runway 19. The pilot stated that, during final approach, he incorrectly identified a crossing road that he believed was about 3/4 mile south of the runway 1 approach threshold; however, the road he observed was about 1 mile north of the airport. The pilot stated that he and his passenger suddenly saw tree branches appear as the airplane descended on final approach. The pilot immediately increased engine power and airplane pitch in an attempt to avoid the trees, but the right wing impacted a tree, and the airplane subsequently impacted terrain about 1/2 mile north of runway 19.

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had previously flown 7 hours during nighttime conditions; however, he had not flown at night within the 238 days preceding the accident. According to federal regulations, pilots are prohibited from acting as pilot-in-command with passengers at night unless they have completed three night takeoffs and three night landings within the previous 90 days. An ancillary benefit of pilots maintaining their regulatory night flight currency is that it demonstrates their having an adequate level of proficiency of night flight operations on a recurring basis. The pilot's lack of recent night flight experience likely contributed to his becoming disorientated while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern, the airplane descending below a normal approach path, and the collision with trees.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset