Piper PA28R N4964S

Summary

On 8 August 2020 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA28R registered N4964S was involved in an accident near Englewood, Colorado, 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

8 August 2020 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Englewood, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Centennial Airport (APA)

Coordinates

39.5744, -104.8522

Aircraft

Piper PA28R

Registration

N4964S

Category

Airplane

Year built

1970

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Englewood → Englewood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA332

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor did not maintain a proper approach path and landing flare during a landing with a tailwind, which resulted in a hard landing and damaged landing gear. During the subsequent landing with damaged landing gear, the flight instructor lost directional control which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with objects.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating a short approach and touch-and-go landing to the student pilot in a complex airplane. During the final approach, the flight instructor was unable to correct for a quartering tailwind and the airplane landed sideways on the left main landing gear. The flight instructor stated that "[the landing] felt a bit unusual, but the approach had been stable and the landing wasn't that bad..." The airplane took off and the landing gear would not retract. After troubleshooting the problem and declaring an emergency, the flight instructor landed the airplane with an unsafe landing gear indication. After touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the flight instructor lost directional control. The airplane impacted taxiway lights and came to rest upright adjacent to the runway. Postaccident examination showed the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. Further examination of the left main landing gear and wing revealed overload damage to the landing gear wing attachment. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.