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GAA17CA056

2016-11-05 · Davis, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DWA

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

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.

Factual 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. 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. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_GAA17CA056.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure, runway excursion). All research papers