Amateur-built RV9A N94NF accident near Saluda, South Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate glide path during the landing approach in variable wind conditions, which resulted in collision with trees.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was executing a forward slip to land. On short final approach to the runway, as the airplane descended below the tree line of a forest that was to his immediate right, he encountered a downdraft and crosswind. The airplane began to sink and yawed to the right. The pilot attempted to go around, but the landing gear struck the trees. The airplane continued to descend, and the right wing impacted a tree before the airplane came to rest upright in a nose down attitude at the base of two trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA284 for the full record.