De Havilland DHC6 N72GC

Summary

On 6 March 2020 at about 18:15 local time, a De Havilland DHC6 registered N72GC, operated by Grand Canyon Airlines, was involved in an accident near Boulder City, Nevada, 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

6 March 2020 at 18:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Boulder City, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Boulder City (BVU)

Coordinates

35.9472, -114.8647

Aircraft

De Havilland DHC6

Registration

N72GC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

2

Operator

Grand Canyon Airlines

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boulder City → Boulder City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20CA112

Nobody was injured.

The trainee pilot's loss of directional control during landing and his subsequent unintentional control interference with the brakes and/or rudder during the trainer pilot's attempted remedial action, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

An operator's pilot was conducting training for a newly hired pilot for a first officer position in the twin-engine airplane. After accomplishing air work, the pilots returned to the airport to practice landings and takeoffs. According to both pilots, the first approach was normal, and the airplane touched down slightly right of the runway centerline. The trainee pilot stated that, after touchdown, the airplane began drifting further right and that he was unable to correct the deviation. The trainer pilot reported that, when directional control became unstable, he told the trainee, "I have the controls." The trainer pilot saw that the trainee pilot released his hands from the engine power levers and the yoke, but the airplane continued to deviate to the right, contrary to his control inputs and his addition of asymmetric power to the engines. The trainer pilot realized that, based on his inputs, the airplane should have returned to the centerline but that it did not and that it was behaving as if the trainee pilot was applying some braking. At that point, the trainer pilot again told the trainee pilot to release the controls, and he used the brakes, which he reported applied and released normally. Subsequently, the airplane exited the right side of the runway and impacted a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The trainer pilot and the operator reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The trainer pilot reported that he believed the trainee pilot's feet were either on the brakes or interfered with his brake and/or rudder application attempts. The trainee pilot reported that he could not recall the position of his feet after he relinquished airplane control to the trainer pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.