19990710008709A

Engine failure on departure climbout, crash landed 2 miles sw of San Luis Obispo arpt. (-23)on climbout from sbp, subject aircraft experienced total engine failure at approx. 600' AGL. The a/c glided towards a highway, "ballooned" over an overpass, touched down hard upon the highway, collapsed its landing gear from compression and sideload forces, slid into a small tree with its right wing, and came to rest, upright. (.4)on July 10, 1999, at 1230 hours pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-180, N6597P, collided with ground obstructions during a forced landing following a loss of power during the takeoff initial climb at San Luis Obispo, California. The aircraft, owned and operated by the student pilot, sustained substantial damage. The student pilot and his instructor were not injured. The cross-country instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR part 91 and a VFR flight plan was filed. The dual cross-country flight originated at whiteman airport in pacoima, California at 1030. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight instructor told s afety board investigators that he met the student pilot at the airplane and watched him preflight the airplane. The airplane was being fueled at the time. He stated he verified the fuel quantity (full left and right main tanks), and fuel cap security after the fueling. The student sumped both tanks with no reported discrepancies. The flight instructor reported that they took off and flew the entire flight to San Luis Obispo on the left tank. They taxied to the ramp area and did not shutdown the engine. He said he had the student change the fuel selector to the right tank at that time, closed their flight plan, and reviewed the return flight. He estimated they were on the ground about 10 minutes, asked for their taxi clearance, and were given taxi instructions to runway 29. The instructor reported that the power came up smoothly on the takeoff roll. He reported that the engine quit approximately 600 feet above ground level (AGL). He reported that there was no roughness or surging, and that it just suddenly quit. The flight instructor said he took the controls at that point and lined up on highway 101. He said he verified that the fuel selector was on the right tank, mixture rich, and the carburetor heat and boost pump was on. He said he had to maneuver the airplane to miss an overpass and proceeded to touchdown in the northbound lanes of the highway. The flight instructor said that the right wing struck a bush, which spun the airplane off the highway and down the embankment next to the highway.