Beechcraft 76 N6703L

Summary

On 5 November 2016 at about 18:00 local time, a Beechcraft 76 registered N6703L, operated by WiStratus Aviation, was involved in an accident near Davis, 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

5 November 2016 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Davis, California, United States

Nearest airport

Yolo County (DWA)

Coordinates

38.5744, -121.8581

Aircraft

Beechcraft 76

Registration

N6703L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

2

Operator

WiStratus Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vacaville → Vacaville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA056

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a simulated left engine failure during takeoff. Also causal to the accident was the flight instructor's delayed remedial action to maintain directional control and reduce the right engine mixture control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor in the multi-engine airplane reported that during a biennial flight review the pilot released the brakes and added full power for takeoff. The flight instructor further reported that during the takeoff roll he utilized the left engine mixture control to simulate a left engine failure, but the pilot "froze" at the flight controls and the airplane veered to the left. The flight instructor attempted to fail the right engine via the right mixture control in order to regain directional control, but his hand came off the mixture control and the airplane exited the runway. During the runway excursion, the flight instructor "finally got [his] hand back on the right mixture and pulled it to idle cut-off"; subsequently, the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.