Piper PA-28-140 N15791

Summary

On 27 January 2012 at about 20:10 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N15791, operated by Gary Habersetzer, was involved in an accident near Chehalis, Washington, 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

27 January 2012 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Chehalis, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Chehalis Airport (KCLS)

Coordinates

46.6769, -122.9828

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N15791

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gary Habersetzer

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chehalis → Chehalis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12LA087

Nobody was injured.

The pilot did not correctly manage his glide profile during a simulated engine-out forced landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision not to add additional engine power, which resulted in a runway undershoot.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While performing a simulated engine-out forced landing as part of a flight review, the pilot did not manage the glide profile in a manner that allowed him to extend the glide all the way to the approach end of the runway at the non-controlled airport. Because he did not add any engine power, the airplane touched down in a grassy area about 300 feet short of the runway threshold. The flight instructor who was giving the flight review stated that he did not suggest to the pilot that he add power, because it appeared to him that the grassy area was clear. At the point of touchdown, the airplane's stabilator impacted a piece of rebar that had been placed in the ground to mark the location of a future airport lighting system component. The rebar was outside of the boundary of the runway safety area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.