Event GAA19CA306

Factual narrative

The pilot under instruction, reported that he had recently purchased the airplane, and it was his third dual-instruction flight in the airplane. The flight instructor requested a short approach to accomplish a simulated engine failure approach and landing. The pilot asserted that ground instruction for the simulated engine failure was never accomplished The instructor requested a simulated emergency landing on runway 17, which was denied by the tower controller due to traffic. The request was made for runway 28 and approved by the tower controller. The airplane intersected runway 28 at a 45° angle. The instructor told the pilot to reduce the power to idle and initiate the approach at 100 knots airspeed. The pilot recalled that by the time glide speed was established "we were on top of the numbers." The pilot under instruction was told to, "turn right" but he felt that it was too late to turn and align the airplane with the runway heading. The airplane touched down hard on the left edge of runway 28, exited the left side of the runway and collided with runway lights, before the instructor steered the airplane back onto the runway and stopped. The flight instructor reported that he "had given the student ground on how to execute a power-off landing at least twice." During the approach, the airplane turned to the right and intersected a 45° angle toward the runway, the engine power was reduced, the airspeed remained within glide speed parameters, and the instructor told the pilot to, "start your turn," but he did not respond., The airplane overshot the right turn point toward the runway. The pilot applied hard right rudder, and then immediately applied hard left rudder. The instructor took the controls and leveled the airplane, and then applied full power. The airplane landed hard on the left edge of runway 28, it exited the left side of the runway and the instructor pulled the power off. His hand was on top of the pilot's, who subsequently added full power. The instructor reduced the power, but again the pilot added full power. The instructor was able to steer that airplane and bring it to a stop on the runway. Surveillance footage of the accident provided by the FAA, revealed that during approach, the airplane converged on about a 45° angle toward runway 28. When the airplane approached the runway numbers, the airplane's right wing dropped rapidly, and the nose pitched up. Seconds later, the left wing dropped rapidly, and the airplane impacted the left side of the runway, just prior to the runway aim point markings. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and collided with runway lighting. The airplane remained upright and returned to the runway surface before coming to a stop about mid-field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the elevator, and the vertical stabilizer. Both pilot's reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot under instruction reported that he had recently purchased the airplane and that the accident occurred during his third dual-instruction flight in the airplane. The flight instructor requested a short approach to accomplish a simulated engine failure approach and landing. The pilot reported that ground instruction for the simulated engine failure was never accomplished. The instructor requested a simulated emergency landing on runway 17, which was denied by the tower controller due to traffic. The instructor then requested a simulated emergency landing on runway 28, which the tower controller approved. The airplane intersected the extended centerline of runway 28 at a 45° angle. The instructor told the pilot to reduce the power to idle and initiate the approach at 100 knots. The pilot recalled that, by the time glide speed was established, "we were on top of the numbers." The instructor told the pilot to turn right, but he believed that it was too late to turn and align the airplane with the runway heading. The airplane touched down hard on the left edge of the runway, exited the left side of the runway, and impacted runway lights. The flight instructor reported that he had provided the pilot ground instruction on how to execute a power-off landing at least twice. The instructor added that, when he told the pilot to start turning, he did not respond and that, after the airplane overshot the right turn point toward the runway, he took the controls, leveled the airplane, and then applied full power. After the airplane exited the left side of the runway, he pulled the power off. His hand was on top of the pilot's, who subsequently added full power. The instructor reduced the power, but the pilot added full power again. The instructor was able to steer the airplane and stop it on the runway. A review of surveillance footage of the accident provided by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that, during the approach, the airplane converged on about a 45° angle toward runway 28. When the airplane approached the runway numbers, the right wing dropped rapidly, and the nose pitched up. Seconds later, the left wing dropped rapidly, and the airplane impacted the left side of the runway just before reaching the runway aim point markings. The airplane exited the left side of the runway and collided with runway lighting. The airplane remained upright and returned to the runway surface before coming to a stop about mid-field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the elevator and vertical stabilizer. Both pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
• 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
• F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - F
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Runway/taxi/approach light-Effect on operation - C