Borom LONG-EZ N966EZ

Summary

On 27 July 2021 at about 14:14 local time, a Borom LONG-EZ registered N966EZ was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 July 2021 at 14:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Ryan Fld (RYN)

Coordinates

32.1391, -111.1825

Aircraft

Borom LONG-EZ

Registration

N966EZ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1986

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21FA288

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and to retract the speed brake during the approach, which resulted in a hard landing short of the runway. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s decision to conduct a flight review in an airplane without the appropriate visibility, flight instruments, and controls for him to adequately assess the airplane’s flight parameters and touchdown point and take appropriate remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor were conducting a flight review flight in the airplane. After completing some maneuvers, they returned to the airport to accomplish a simulated engine-out, straight-in approach. During the final approach, the airplane was fast on a few occasions, and the pilot used the speed brake to slow down and descend. On short final, the airplane was slow, and the flight instructor told the pilot to use power. Although the pilot added power, the airplane landed hard about 500 ft short of the runway in soft terrain, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The speed brake was found extended. It is likely that the slow airspeed on short final approach in combination with the extended speed brake resulted in a sink rate that the pilot was unable to overcome and resulted in the hard landing short of the runway. The flight instructor elected to conduct the flight review from the rear seat of the tandem seat airplane, which was not equipped with throttle or rudder controls. Additionally, the flight instructor was unable to see the flight instruments and had limited visibility outside the airplane. Due to the limited visibility and the lack of flight instruments and controls in the back seat, the flight instructor was likely unable to adequately assess the airplane’s flight parameters and touchdown point and take appropriate remedial action.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.