# Accident 19971031031589A: Piper PA23160, Fitchburg, MA, October 31, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 31, 1997, 10:15 local time
- Place: Fitchburg, MA
- Airport: Fitchburg Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: HUBA
- Location: 42.5576° N, 71.7782° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.5576&lon=-71.7782&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3EV, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3EV-1998-04-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-150 (registry code 7102303, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23160
- Reported engine: LYC O320B3B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 5,407 total, 22 in this make and model, 116 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA024](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA024) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971031031589A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CFI FAILED LEFT ENGINE ON FINAL. LOW. BEGAN GO AROUND GEAR DOWN DUE PUMP ON LEFT ENGINE. BELOW VMC. CRASHED. BURNED (.4) THE FLIGHT WAS THE SECOND MULTI-ENGINE TRAINING FLIGHT FOR THE PILOT TRAINEE.  ON FINAL APPROACH THE LEFT ENGINE WAS OBSERVED FEATHERED AND THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED.  WITH A CLEAR RUNWAY AHEAD, A SINGLE ENGINE GO-AROUND WAS INITIATED.  THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED IN A VERY  SHALLOW CLIMB.  WITNESSES THEN SAW THE AIRPLANE DESCEND IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AND STRIKE THE GROUND.  INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE AIRPLANE HAD IMPACTED THE GROUND WITH THE LEFT ENGINE PROPELLER FEATHERED, AND THE LANDING GEAR EXTENDED.  NO EVIDENCE OF A MACHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND WITH THE AIRPLANE OR FEATHERED ENGINE. A CHECK OF CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AIRPLANE REVEALED IT WAS NOT REQUIRED TO PERFORM A SINGLE ENGINE GO-AROUND.  FAA AND AOPA PUBLICATIONS CAUTIONED AGAINST PERFORMING SINGLE ENGINE GO-AROUNDS.  THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR HAD PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED A SINGLE ENGINE GO-AROUND IN THE SAME AIRPLANE, ALSO WITH THE LEFT ENGINE SHUT DOWN.  HOWEVER, THE LANDING GEAR WAS RETRACTED.  THE STUDENT IN THAT FLIGHT SAID THE AIRPLANE CLIMBED BETWEEN 50 AND 200 FPM.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC98FA024](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA024), Oct 31, 1997: Piper PA-23-150 (N3EV), Fitchburg, MA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The flight instructor's inadequate in-flight decision and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a loss of control. Contributing was the flight instructor's failure to follow…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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