Chandler, AZ, USA
N6716J
Piper PA-28-140
Same as Factual Information
The flight instructor reported that while on a one mile final approach to Runway 17 and coaching the student pilot on a short field landing, he noticed the airplane's descent rate was greater than 500 feet per minute. The flight instructor stated that he advised the student pilot to increase power, but the student seemed "slow" to add power. The flight instructor further stated, "As we were 300 feet before [the] threshold of Runway 17 we experienced a sinking feeling, [like] a downdraft or vertical wind shear, followed by the airplane's right main landing gear impacting the edge of the asphalt runway, which protrudes a foot higher than terrain at that site." The flight instructor reported that the impact displaced the right main landing gear backward as the airplane skidded to a stop about 1,000 feet down the runway. The pilot stated that damage to the airplane included the right main landing gear bent aft, a hole in the top of the right wing post to the fuel cell, damage to the right flap and right aileron, as well as the left side of the fuselage being wrinkled. The flight instructor stated that there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident.
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions while landing, which resulted in an undershoot and an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors associated with the accident were the downdraft, the uneven terrain, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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