ERA16LA236

Factual narrative

**This report was modified on March 25, 2020. Please see the public docket for this accident to view the original report.** On June 29, 2016, about 1230 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34-200, N44311, sustained substantial damage during an aborted landing at the Fairfield County Airport (FDW), Winnsboro, South Carolina. The flight instructor and the commercial pilot were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private company. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at FDW about 1020. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight instructor stated that the accident flight was the first time he had flown with the commercial pilot and the purpose of the flight was to get him recurrent. The flight instructor said they had flown for about 2 hours before they returned to FDW and executed the RNAV approach to runway 22. When the airplane reached the decision altitude for the approach, they transitioned to a visual approach and prepared to land. The landing gear was already down and the flaps were extended to 25 degrees. The commercial pilot was at the controls and flared the airplane over the runway numbers, but was too high. He advised the commercial pilot to lower the nose and add power, which he did. The commercial pilot again flared too high and the flight instructor was concerned that the airplane was going to stall and started to reach for the controls when the commercial pilot initiated a go-around. The flight instructor said the commercial pilot simultaneously pushed both throttles forward and the airplane suddenly rolled to the right while at a height about 2- to 4 ft above the ground. The flight instructor, who never took the controls at any time, said it felt like the left engine was producing more power than the right engine. The airplane's right wing and main landing gear struck the ground. The airplane then veered off the right side of the runway, and spun about 180-degrees before coming to a stop upright. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed the right wing and fuselage were substantially damaged. The landing gear, both engines, and their respective propellers were also damaged. Both engines and the airplane's fuel system were examined and no pre-impact mechanical deficiencies were noted that would have precluded normal operation at the time of the accident. Examination of the horizontal stabilator trim revealed it was positioned toward the full nose-up position. The flight instructor held a flight instructor certificate for airplane single and multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He also held an airline transport pilot rating for single-engine airplane. His last FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on March 7, 2016. He reported a total of 6,482 hours of flight experience. Of those hours, 780 were in multiengine airplanes, of which, 500 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The commercial pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single and multiengine land, and instrument airplane. His last FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on June 21, 2016. He reported a total of 2,400 hours of flight experience. Of those hours, 1,900 hours were in multiengine airplanes, of which, 0 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The flight instructor and commercial pilot were conducting a currency flight in the multi-engine airplane. After completing an instrument approach, they transitioned to a visual approach and prepared to land. The pilot flared the airplane too high, and the instructor advised the pilot to lower the nose and add power, which he did. The pilot again flared too high, and the instructor was concerned that the airplane was going to stall. The instructor started to reach for the controls when the pilot initiated a go-around. The instructor said the pilot simultaneously pushed both throttles forward and that the airplane suddenly rolled to the right at a height between 2 and 4 ft above the ground. The instructor did not take control of the airplane at any time. The airplane's right wing and main landing gear struck the ground, and the airplane veered off the right side of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation. The horizontal stabilator trim actuator was positioned toward the full nose-up position, which most likely resulted in the nose of the airplane pitching up farther than expected when the pilot added power, which increased the airplane's angle of attack and exacerbated its already critically slow airspeed, resulting in an aerodynamic stall. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C