Volaircraft 10A N6666D

Summary

On 2 October 2016 at about 20:57 local time, a Volaircraft 10A registered N6666D was involved in an accident near Mandan, North Dakota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 October 2016 at 20:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Mandan, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Mandan Municipal Airport (Y19)

Coordinates

46.8806, -100.9944

Aircraft

Volaircraft 10A

Registration

N6666D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mandan → Mandan

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA004

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain the proper approach path on landing, which resulted in impact with terrain short of the runway.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot stated that, while on final approach for landing, the airplane encountered turbulence on final approach that "pushed the plane down." The airplane landed short of the runway, the student egressed, and the airplane subsequently caught fire and was destroyed. The student pilot reported that there were no mechanical problems before the accident; there were no witnesses. Visual examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel/gascolator line had ruptured during impact, resulting in the postimpact fire. The local weather at the time of the accident included wind from 130° at 3 knots, and the smoke was observed billowing straight up from the fire; indicating calm to light wind at the time of the accident. It is likely that the student pilot failed to maintain a proper approach path during the landing approach, which resulted in the airplane impacting terrain short of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.