Diamond DA 40 NG N871LA

Summary

On 6 February 2023 at about 21:30 local time, a Diamond DA 40 NG registered N871LA, operated by Take Flight Aviation, was involved in an accident near Lake Katrine, New York, 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

6 February 2023 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Katrine, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Kingston-Ulster (20N)

Coordinates

41.9835, -73.9624

Aircraft

Diamond DA 40 NG

Registration

N871LA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2020

Engines

1

Operator

Take Flight Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montegomery → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA140

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate pitch attitude and descent rate during landing, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction were practicing short field landings. After an initial unsuccessful approach, the pilot conducted a go-around and set up for another landing approach. The flight instructor described that after passing over obstacles while on short final approach to the runway, the flight instructor told the pilot to reduce engine power to idle so that they would not overshoot the touchdown point again. The pilot complied, and as they descend the pilot continued to increase the airplane’s pitch attitude as if engine power had not been reduced. The flight instructor noted this, directed the pilot to decrease the airplane’s pitch, and then “nudged” the control stick forward to reduce the airplane’s angle of attack. As the flight instructor released his forward pressure on the control stick, the airplane’s pitch again increased along with its descent rate, as the pilot continued to pull back on the control stick. The airplane subsequently touched down “hard” on the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The operator reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, nor did the pilot or flight instructor report any.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.