Piper PA-28-161 N28385

Summary

On 30 January 2004 at about 03:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N28385 was involved in an accident near Placerville, California, 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

30 January 2004 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Placerville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Placerville Airport (KPVF)

Coordinates

38.7292, -120.7556

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N28385

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Placerville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

LAX04CA115

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to attain a proper glide path during the final approach and delayed go-around, resulting in an undershoot of the runway. The inadequate supervision of the flight and flight instructor's delayed remedial action was also causal.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While attempting to land, the airplane undershot the runway and collided with terrain short of the runway, shearing off the main landing gear. The student pilot was practicing night flying. While on final approach, the airplane was below the glide path and he attempted a go-around. The airplane's main gear collided with a berm located before the runway. The airplane bounced and the ELT (emergency locator transmitter) became activated. The impact sheered off the left main landing gear and the right main landing gear was still attached, but dangling from the strut. After testing the airplane's controllability, the certified flight instructor (CFI) determined it was in "flyable" condition and elected to return to the airport the flight originated from. He made a normal approach and started his rollout solely on the nose wheel. Although the airplane did not have any brakes, the airplane came to rest about three quarters of the way down the runway. The CFI did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.