Piper PA-34-200 N47GM

Summary

On 9 May 2001 at about 01:12 local time, a Piper PA-34-200 registered N47GM, operated by Avia Aviation Services, was involved in an accident near Corvallis, Oregon, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 May 2001 at 01:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Corvallis, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Corvallis Muni (CVO)

Coordinates

44.4609, -123.3392

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200

Registration

N47GM

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Avia Aviation Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Corvallis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA01LA087

2 people were seriously injured.

The student instructor's failure to maintain the airplane's minimum control airspeed during a practice single-engine approach, and the flight instructor's failure to direct or accomplish a timely go-around, resulting in loss of aircraft control with insufficient altitude for recovery. A factor was the student instructor's failure to maintain runway alignment during the approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident flight was an instructional flight with two airline transport pilot-rated pilots aboard, of whom one was a flight instructor and the other was undergoing training to become a multiengine airplane flight instructor. Approximately 1 hour after takeoff, the flight instructor initiated a simulated left engine failure situation approximately 5 nautical miles east of the airport. A visual flight rules approach was performed to runway 27 with the left engine set to a zero-thrust condition. During the landing flare, the student instructor (who, according to the flight instructor, was controlling the aircraft at the time) did not maintain alignment with the runway centerline. The airplane's airspeed also dropped below the airplane's single-engine minimum control airspeed (Vmc) in the landing flare. The flight instructor called for a go-around, both pilots advanced the throttles, and the aircraft "accelerated normally and begin [sic] a climb", according to the flight instructor. The flight instructor then reduced flaps to 10 degrees. The aircraft then began to roll and yaw to the left. The flight instructor applied full right aileron and full right rudder, and reduced power on both engines in an effort to regain control. The aircraft then struck the ground in approximately a 30-degree left banked attitude, spun around and caught fire. Post-accident examinations of the aircraft's flight controls and left engine by FAA and Textron Lycoming investigators did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact mechanical discrepancies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.