Piper PA-28-140 N730SC

Summary

On 27 June 2023 at about 00:45 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N730SC was involved in an accident near Newdale, Idaho, 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

27 June 2023 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Newdale, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.8760, -111.5790

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N730SC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rexburg → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA242

Nobody was injured.

The premature retraction of the flaps by the student pilot, while just above the airplane’s stall speed. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and failure to regain aircraft control from the student pilot.

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 his student was at the controls, he initiated a simulated engine failure, and the student executed the emergency procedures for a forced landing. The student chose a place to land and configured the airplane for landing, including full flaps. The instructor noticed that the airplane’s airspeed was “a little slow”, and he instructed the student to check the airspeed, then recover from the simulation. The student retracted the flaps instead of adding engine power, and the airplane stalled and sank. The instructor immediately attempted to take over the airplane’s controls from the student and verbally commanded “my controls”, but the student was “stuck on the controls and locked up.” The airplane continued to descend and touched down in a field and nosed over. Both wings, the fuselage, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder sustained substantial damage. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.