Piper PA28 N8282V

Summary

On 7 April 2025 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N8282V was involved in an accident near Ault, 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

7 April 2025 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Ault, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.7249, -104.6222

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N8282V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greeley → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA146

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain terrain clearance during an attempted go-around, which resulted in a collision with a fence post.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported the airplane was flown over a remote grassland area to perform a simulated engine failure with the student pilot. During the maneuver, the flight instructor commanded a go-around about 300 to 400 ft above ground level. The student pilot hesitated, he retracted the flaps without adding power, and the flight instructor took the fight controls to complete the go-around. When the flaps were retracted, the airplane’s stall warning horn activated. As the flight instructor attempted to recover from the possible aerodynamic stall situation, the main landing gear settled onto the ground and the left wing impacted a fence post. The left wing became separated from the fuselage, the airplane traveled through a fence, and it came to rest partially upright on a pasture. The flight instructor and student pilot were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The flight instructor reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor further reported that the accident could have been prevented by an improved briefing with the student on training procedures prior to the flight and utilizing a higher go-around altitude during the maneuver to maintain terrain clearance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.