NTSB Identification: LAX99LA148
Accident occurred APR-14-99 at VAN NUYS, CA Aircraft: Piper PA-28-161, registration: N8466F Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On April 14, 1999, at 1630 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N8466F, collided with terrain while simulating an engine out procedure during a biennial flight review near Van Nuys, California. The aircraft, operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and check pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the instructional flight and no flight plan was filed.
The flight had originated at the Van Nuys airport at 1500. In an interview with the private pilot, he stated that the check pilot had simulated an engine failure by retarding the throttle to idle. He stated that when he applied full power to go-around, the airspeed and the aircraft were too low. He reported that the "application of full power could not arrest the sink rate the aircraft was experiencing." The pilot stated that the landing was not hard, but that the aircraft landed in high vegetation and may have struck a dirt mound because the landing gear was torn off. In an interview with the check pilot, he stated that they had been in the traffic pattern for approximately 1 hour conducting landings, takeoffs, and emergency procedures.
He then had the private pilot take him to the accident location to simulate engine out procedures. At 2,600 feet agl, the check pilot reduced the power to idle and instructed the pilot to conduct the approach along a dirt road. At 50 feet agl he was satisfied with the maneuver and instructed the pilot to go-around. The pilot froze on the controls and the check pilot was unable to gain control of the aircraft before it touched down off of the dirt road. The check pilot stated that the landing was not hard but that the aircraft did land in tall grass and struck something. No mechanical anomalies were noted.