# Accident 19990414003509A: Piper PA28161, Van Nuys, CA, April 14, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 14, 1999, 17:00 local time - Place: Van Nuys, CA - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Sfl Final Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.1898° N, 118.4904° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1898&lon=-118.4904&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8466F, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8466F) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-161 (registry code 7102803, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28161 - Reported engine: LYC O320D3G - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 181 total, 27 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA148](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA148) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990414003509A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED UNDER UKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES IN BELL CANYON AFTER DOING PATTERN WORK AT THE VAN NUYS PRACTICE AREA. (FROM .19) 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 TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR APPROX. 1 HR 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 THE LANDING WAS NOT HARD BUT THAT THE AIRCRAFT DID LAND IN TALL GRASS AND STRUCK SOMETHING. NO MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WERE NOTED. (-23)^PRIV^ (CFI) PULLED POWER TO IDLE TO SIMULATE EMERGENCY LANDING,^PRIVACY D^ (STUDENT) MADE IT TO APPROX. 50 FEET AGL WITHOUT INCIDENT. ^PRIV^ TOLD HIM TO GO AROUND, AS ^PRIVACY D^ APPLIED POWER HE VEERED TO THE LEFT, ^PRIV^ SAID I GOT THE CONTROLS AND TRIED TO SAVE THE SITUATION BUT THE STUDENT OVERPOWERED HIM ON THE CONTROLS. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED IN THE GRASS AND THE RIGHT MAIN AND NOSE GEAR BROKE OFF. (.4)THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO CONDUCT A BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND CHECK PILOT HAD SPENT AN HOUR IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN REVIEWING TAKEOFFS, LANDINGS, AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. THE CHECK PILOT REPORTED THAT THE PRIVATE PILOT HAD CONDUCTED THE MANEUVERS SATISFACTORILY, AND HE REQUESTED THAT THE PRIVATE PILOT TAKE HIM TO THE ACCIDENT LOCATION TO SIMULATE ENGINE OUT PROCEDURES. ONCE AT THE ACCIDENT LOCATION, THE CHECK PILOT REDUCED THE POWER TO IDLE AND INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO CONDUCT THE APPROACH ON A DIRT ROAD. THE CHECK PILOT REPORTED THAT AT 50 FEET AGL, HE WAS SATISFIED WITH THE MANEUVER AND INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO GO AROUND. THE PRIVATE PILOT STATED THAT HE APPLIED FULL POWER TO GO AROUND, BUT THE AIRSPEED AND THE AIRCRAFT WERE TOO LOW AND THE APPLICATION OF POWER COULD NOT ARREST THE RATE OF DESCENT PRIOR TO CONTACTING THE GROUND. THE CHECK PILOT SAID THAT THE PILOT DID NOT REACT TO HIS REQUEST TO DISCONTINUE THE MANEUVER AND FROZE ON THE CONTROLS. THE CHECK PILOT WAS UNABLE TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO IT TOUCHING DOWN OFF THE DIRT ROAD AND STRIKING A DIRT MOUND IN THE GRASS. NO MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WERE NOTED WITH THE AIRCRAFT OR E NGINE BY EITHER OF THE PILOTS. ## 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 LAX99LA148](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA148), Apr 15, 1999: Piper PA-28-161 (N8466F), Van Nuys, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The check pilot's inadequate supervision of the flight and his failure to ensure that an adequate altitude margin existed during the maneuver. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.