Piper PA-28-180 N9687J

Summary

On 15 January 2023 at about 10:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N9687J, operated by Christopher Cardoza, was involved in an accident near San Diego, California, United States. 4 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

15 January 2023 at 10:30

Classification

Accident

Location

San Diego, California, United States

Nearest airport

Montgomery-Gibbs Executive AIr (MYF)

Coordinates

32.8136, -117.1417

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N9687J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Christopher Cardoza

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Diego → Torrence

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA091

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain altitude while maneuvering to another runway after the engine cowling opened shortly after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the failure of both the student pilot and flight instructor to conduct an adequate preflight inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that prior to his arrival, the student pilot conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane. The flight instructor then visually inspected the airplane and did not observe any anomalies. On the takeoff roll, with the student pilot at the controls, the left side of the engine cowling opened just after rotation. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and reduced the engine’s power setting to relieve stress on the cowling and abort the take off. However, the flight instructor determined that “was not the solution,” applied full power to the engine and elected to initiate a turn toward an alternate runway. The airplane continued to descend and was unable to reach the alternate runway. The flight instructor landed the airplane in muddy terrain off the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane’s right main landing gear separated, and the right wing impacted the surface, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.