Piper PA-28-160 N5157W

Summary

On 1 May 1998 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-160 registered N5157W was involved in an accident near Monroe, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 May 1998 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Monroe, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Firstair Field (WA38)

Coordinates

47.8697, -121.8803

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-160

Registration

N5157W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Snohomish → Monroe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA068

Nobody was injured.

Fuel starvation due to the flight instructor's improper in-flight decision to simulate an engine failure by pulling the mixture control toward the lean position until the engine shut down, and his failure to return the mixture to the rich position until after the aircraft had reached a low altitude and the propeller had stopped turning. Factors include the rough/uneven terrain within the construction area in which the aircraft was landed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After the instructor simulated an engine failure by pulling out the mixture control until the engine shut down, the student attempted to maneuver for a landing at a paved private airstrip. Just after turning a close-in final, with the mixture still pulled out almost to the full-lean position, the student raised the aircraft's nose, and the propeller stopped turning. The instructor then returned the mixture control to the full rich position and instructed the student to engage the starter. After two unsuccessful attempts to get the engine to start, the student landed the aircraft in an area where the terrain had been torn up by construction workers. Just after touchdown, the aircraft impacted rough/uneven terrain and sustained substantial damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.