Piper PA-28-140 N836FC

Summary

On 12 October 1997 at about 01:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N836FC, operated by David Chevalier, was involved in an accident near Lanai City, Hawaii, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 October 1997 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lanai City, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Lanai (LNY)

Coordinates

20.8306, -156.9195

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N836FC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

David Chevalier

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kahului → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX98LA010

Nobody was injured.

Interference on the controls by the passenger as the aircraft neared touchdown, and the pilot's failure to adequately brief and supervise the passenger on the use and relinquishing of the flight controls. A factor in the accident was the intentional control interference of the passenger.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While practicing touch-and-go landings the pilot gave permission to his passenger to place his hands on the yoke. The purpose was to allow the passenger to feel what the pilot was doing during the flight. The passenger had been briefed that the pilot was going to raise the nose of the aircraft during the landing sequence. At this point, the passenger pushed the yoke forward and a struggle for the aircraft controls took place between the pilot and the passenger. The pilot was able to reestablish control of the aircraft before impacting the runway, but it resulted in a hard landing. When questioned by the pilot regarding his [the passenger's] actions during the landing, the passenger stated that he thought that the pilot needed his assistance in landing. The passenger reacted automatically when he perceived that the pilot was having trouble raising the nose of the aircraft. Witnesses to the accident reported that as the aircraft got close to the runway it dropped about 50 to 60 feet straight down to the ground. Both witnesses reported that weather was not a factor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.