Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary GAA18CA239

Vacaville, CA, USA

Aircraft #1

N54V

BEECH 76

Analysis

The flight instructor was giving instruction in the multiengine, retractable-landing gear-equipped airplane. On the downwind leg in the pattern, he asked the pilot under instruction to perform a simulated single-engine emergency landing with the left engine shutdown. It was the pilot under instruction's first training flight in a multiengine airplane, and he asked a series of questions of the flight instructor during the procedure. The instructor reported that they both became distracted and forgot to extend the landing gear. The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted and came to rest on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wingspar and longerons. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Factual Information

The flight instructor was giving instruction in a multi-engine, retractable landing gear-equipped airplane. On the downwind leg in the pattern he and asked the student to perform a simulated single-engine emergency landing with the left engine shutdown. It was the student's first training flight in a multi-engine airplane, and he asked a series of questions to the flight instructor during the procedure. The instructor reported that they both became distracted and forgot to extend the landing gear. The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted and came to rest on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing-spar and longerons. Per the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, in the Recommendation section the instructor reported that the accident could have been prevented by implementing a sterile cockpit during critical phases of flight, per the flight school's operations manual. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot under instruction’s failure to extend the landing gear and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and failure to ensure that the landing gear was extended.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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