Piper PA34 N88AG

Summary

On 11 September 2018 at about 14:30 local time, a Piper PA34 registered N88AG, operated by Wayman Flight Training, was involved in an accident near Miami, Florida, 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

11 September 2018 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Miami, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Dade-Collier Training And Tran (TNT)

Coordinates

25.8619, -80.8969

Aircraft

Piper PA34

Registration

N88AG

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

2

Operator

Wayman Flight Training

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hollywood → Hollywood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA559

Nobody was injured.

The pilot under instruction’s failure to maintain the twin-engine airplane’s minimum control airspeed with one engine inoperative and the flight instructor’s distraction when reconfiguring the airplane following the simulated engine failure, which resulted in no power being available to the left engine and a loss of control during landing when the throttles were advanced to increase airspeed.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor in the multiengine airplane reported that the pilot under instruction was conducting a simulated instrument approach in visual flight rules conditions. The instructor placed the left engine fuel selector in the "off" position to simulate an engine out, and the pilot under instruction initiated the left engine failure procedure by placing the engine and propeller levers in a simulated feathered zero-thrust configuration. The instructor became distracted by traffic and failed to place the left engine fuel selector back to the "on" position. With full flaps and the landing gear extended and while about 250 ft above ground level, the instructor terminated the simulated instrument approach and instructed the pilot to land visually; however, the airspeed decreased below safe limits, and he instructed the pilot to increase the airspeed. The pilot increased power on both engines; however, the left engine power did not increase, and the airplane rolled to the left about 45°. The instructor took the controls and applied right aileron and rudder, but the airplane settled down in a level attitude in a shallow lagoon on the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage bulkheads. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.