Piper PA-28-161 N9249L

Summary

On 21 September 2011 at about 20:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N9249L, operated by Flightsafety International, was involved in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida, 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

21 September 2011 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Okeechobee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Okeechobee County Airport (OBE)

Coordinates

27.2597, -80.8503

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N9249L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Flightsafety International

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pahokee → Okeechobee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA497

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath during a power-off landing and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), the student pilot entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern and reduced the power to idle when the airplane was abeam the runway numbers in order to perform a power-off landing. The airplane slowed to glide speed, and the student pilot selected 10 degrees of flaps and turned onto the base leg. After turning onto final approach, the airplane's airspeed decreased to below 60 knots, and the CFI advised the student pilot to perform a go-around. The CFI then took control of the airplane to prevent an "imminent stall" and applied full power, but the airplane continued to descend. The airplane struck trees and a fence and then impacted the ground. The CFI subsequently reduced the power to idle and applied the brakes. However, the airplane struck another fence, turned 180 degrees, and came to rest in a grassy area to the left of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage during the accident sequence. The CFI did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.