Diamond DA20 N989PA

Summary

On 23 August 2023 at about 13:05 local time, a Diamond DA20 registered N989PA was involved in an accident near Fairfield, Utah, 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

23 August 2023 at 13:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairfield, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.1140, -112.0621

Aircraft

Diamond DA20

Registration

N989PA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanish Fork → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA324

Nobody was injured.

The flight pilots improper fuel management, which resulted a total loss of engine power, and impact with terrain during an off-airport landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s failure to follow the airplane checklist.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that while conducting a simulated engine failure, the student terminated the maneuver, with the fuel mixture leaned, by advancing the throttle. The engine did not respond with full power, and the flight instructor then “advanced” the mixture. The engine subsequently lost total power. The flight instructor attempted but could not restart the engine. The flight instructor then selected an off-airport landing site, and during the landing roll, the airplane impacted a dirt “berm” which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane by the flight instructor revealed the mixture was not in the full rich position and the fuel pump switch was not in the on position, which was contrary to the checklist for engine failure after takeoff procedures. According to the owner, who conducted a postaccident engine test run, the engine exhibited no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.