Beechcraft 76 N5400M

Summary

On 17 January 2003 at about 18:30 local time, a Beechcraft 76 registered N5400M, operated by Palo Alto Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Truckee, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 2003 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Truckee, California, United States

Nearest airport

Truckee-Tahoe (TRK)

Coordinates

39.3222, -120.1436

Aircraft

Beechcraft 76

Registration

N5400M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Palo Alto Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palo Alto → Truckee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA083

Nobody was injured.

failure of the CFI to ensure that the pilot under instruction adequately understood the engine out procedure during the preflight planning phase of the flight; failure of the pilot under instruction to obtain/maintain directional control; and the inadequate supervision and delayed remedial action of the CFI during the engine out procedure. The pilot under instruction's misunderstanding of the engine out procedure was a factor in the accident.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane veered off the runway and struck a snow bank off the left side of the pavement. The CFI briefed on an engine out procedure prior to takeoff and told the student he was going to fail the left engine. However, the pilot under instruction (PUI) did not fully understand the procedure. He believed that the engine failure would happen when they were in the air and not on the ground. During the takeoff roll, the CFI simulated the engine out by pulling the left mixture. However, the PUI did not pull the throttles to idle as briefed. He was surprised when the airplane started to veer to the left during the takeoff roll. He fixated on the rudder controls, and did not reduce engine power on the right engine. Both pilots stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.