Piper PA-22 N3316A

Summary

On 17 February 2008 at about 20:30 local time, a Piper PA-22 registered N3316A was involved in an accident near El Cajon, 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

17 February 2008 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

El Cajon, California, United States

Nearest airport

Gillespie Field (KSEE)

Coordinates

32.8261, -116.9725

Aircraft

Piper PA-22

Registration

N3316A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Cajon → El Cajon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08CA061

Nobody was injured.

The failure of both pilots to maintain directional control during landing and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was with a certified flight instructor (CFI) on a tail wheel familiarization flight. While en route to the airport they experienced a loss of radio communications. The pilot set his transponder to 7600, overflew the field at pattern altitude, and received a green light from the tower. He entered the pattern and started his final approach at 70 knots with one notch of flaps, which was how the airplane was configured for his previous landings. On short final the CFI called for full flaps. As the flaps were moved to the full position, airspeed decreased and the rate of descent increased. The pilot added power and lowered the nose in an attempt to maintain the glide slope. At 15 to 20 feet agl the airplane began to settle, and then bounced during touchdown. The CFI called for the pilot to close the throttle, and the airplane bounced a second time. The airplane swerved left, the CFI applied right rudder, the airplane then swerved right, and the pilot and CFI applied left rudder and left brake. The plane continued to perform a ground loop to the right and the left wing dug into the terrain, causing substantial damage to the wing structure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.