Piper PA-44-180 N2196B

Summary

On 8 December 2005 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-44-180 registered N2196B, operated by Windy City Flyers, was involved in an accident near Rockford, Illinois, 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

8 December 2005 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rockford, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Greater Rockford (RFD)

Coordinates

42.1953, -89.0972

Aircraft

Piper PA-44-180

Registration

N2196B

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Windy City Flyers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chicago/Prospec → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06CA054

Nobody was injured.

Failure of the commercial pilot (dual student) to maintain a proper descent rate and a safe airspeed during the simulated forced landing. Additional causes were the failure of the flight instructor and the dual student to initiate a go-around in sufficient time to prevent the hard landing and a failure by the flight instructor to provide timely remedial action, which allowed an unsafe condition to develop. A contributing factor was the inadvertent stall encountered prior to runway contact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. The flight instructor and dual student were engaged in an instructional flight at the time of the accident. The flight instructor held a multi-engine airplane instructor rating and was providing training to the other pilot at the time of the accident. The dual student held a commercial pilot certificate with single and multi-engine airplane ratings, and a flight instructor certificate with a single-engine airplane rating. He was obtaining training in preparation for the multi-engine flight instructor rating at the time of the accident. The flight instructor stated that he intended for the student to execute a simulated forced landing on the remaining runway immediately after liftoff. He reported that he instructed the dual student to back taxi the full length of the runway. The tower subsequently cleared the flight for takeoff followed by an immediate landing. He noted that the dual student held the brakes and applied full engine power. Upon reaching full power, the student released the brakes and began the takeoff roll. After liftoff the student established the airplane in a climb at 88 [knots]. The instructor stated that upon reaching an altitude of 200 feet above ground level (agl), he instructed the student to "simultaneously reduce both throttles to idle while pitching for a landing attitude that maintain[ed] 88 [knots]. He reported that the resulting descent rate "did not appear favorable" so about 100 feet agl he "commanded" the dual student to execute a go-around. He noted that full engine power was applied, however, the descent continued until the airplane contacted the runway in a "flat attitude." It subsequently bounced back into the air. He recalled that the stall warning horn sounded shortly before runway contact. The flight instructor stated that he assumed control of the airplane at this point and decided to continue the go-around since the engines seemed to be producing full power. He noted that during the flight around the traffic pattern, the rudder and stabilator were "less responsive than usual." He subsequently executed a no-flap landing on the departure runway. A post accident inspection revealed that the fuselage skin on the left and right sides, forward of the windshield was buckled. The left main landing gear strut was bent aft approximately 90 degrees. Both engine propellers were in the feathered position. The blade tips were curled and twisted consistent with runway contact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.