Beechcraft 76 N6636J

Summary

On 19 April 2002 at about 02:10 local time, a Beechcraft 76 registered N6636J, operated by Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, was involved in an accident near Petaluma, California, United States. 3 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

19 April 2002 at 02:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Petaluma, California, United States

Nearest airport

Petaluma Municipal (O69)

Coordinates

38.2108, -122.7601

Aircraft

Beechcraft 76

Registration

N6636J

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Sierra Academy of Aeronautics

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oakland → Petaluma

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

LAX02LA139

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's decision to execute a simulated single engine go-around at an altitude insufficient to preclude the inadvertent ground contact of the airplane and the resultant loss of directional control. The flight instructor's delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision of the flight are also causal.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the instructional flight, the airplane collided with the ground and collapsed the landing gear during a practice single engine go-around. The flight instructor stated that he had the student do a practice single engine VOR approach to the airport in VFR conditions. The right engine was set to zero thrust for the procedure and the winds were straight down runway 29. They overflew the runway during the approach and circled to enter right traffic. During the approach he had decided to have the student do a single engine go-around. He stated that in hindsight he issued the go-around command at too low an altitude. The airspeed was above Vmc during the go-around; however, due to the low altitude at maneuver initiation, the airplane inadvertently touched down with full power on the left engine, causing the airplane to begin veering to the right. It became airborne again in a nose high, yawing, and right rolling attitude. At this point, he assumed the controls and reduced the power on the left engine. The airplane then settled to the ground in the nose high, yawed, and banked attitude with the right main gear off the pavement. The right main gear and nose gear collapsed. The instructor said that after thinking about the event, he believes that neither he nor the student were making aggressive enough control inputs to correct the situation in the early stages, and he may have waited too long before assuming control. He stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or system failures with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.