Piper PA-28-140 N1671J

Summary

On 28 October 2021 at about 01:42 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N1671J, operated by Idaho Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near Newdale, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 October 2021 at 01:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Newdale, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.8300, -111.5000

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N1671J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Idaho Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Driggs → Rexburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR22LA030

2 people had minor injuries.

The flight instructor’s failure to monitor the flight to ensure terrain clearance during the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were on an instructional flight and were returning to their home airport in dark night conditions. The student pilot was utilizing a view limiting device (foggles) and was receiving altitude and heading instructions from the flight instructor. They had begun a descent about 15 miles east of the destination airport. Shortly thereafter, the student pilot reported that the airplane struck what he thought was a tall standing object. The airplane landed hard, bounced back into the air, and impacted flat open terrain. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the right wing and engine firewall. The flight instructor did not recall any additional circumstances regarding the accident sequence. Both the flight instructor and student 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.