# Accident 20110921024759A: Piper PA-28-161, Okeechobee, FL, September 21, 2011 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 21, 2011, 16:00 local time - Place: Okeechobee, FL - Airport: Okeechobee County - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141) - Operator: ECPS - Location: 27.2597° N, 80.8503° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.2597&lon=-80.8503&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9249L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9249L-2012-11-28) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-161 (registry code 7102803, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-161 - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor - Pilot flight hours: 964 total, 270 in this make and model, 131 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA11CA497](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA497) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110921024759A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 AT APPROXIMATELY 16:00 LOCAL TIME, STUDENT PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND PASSENGER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, ENTERED THE LEFT DOWNWIND OF RUNWAY 14 AT OKEECHOBEE COUNTY AIRPORT, OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA IN PIPER PA-28, N9249L. AT A POSITION OPPOSITE THE TOUCHDOWN POINT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ REDUCED THE POWER TO IDLE IN ORDER FOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TO PRACTICE A POWER OFF APPROACH AND LANDING. ACCORDING TO FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, HIS STUDENT PILOT ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO GET TO SLOW, AND ON SHORT FINAL HE INSTRUCTED THE STUDENT TO "GO AROUND." ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED THAT THE STUDENT DID NOT RESPOND QUICKLY ENOUGH, SO HE TOOK THE FLIGHT CONTROLS AND ATTEMPTED TO EXECUTE A GO-AROUND. HOWEVER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DID NOT INTERVENE QUICKLY ENOUGH TO PREVENT THE AIRCRAFT FROM STRIKING OBSTACLES ON THE GROUND WHICH RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING ACCIDENT SEQUENCE:THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR OF N9249L FIRST STRUCK A SMALL TREE THAT WAS APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET IN HEIGHT, BREAKING OFF BRANCHES AND CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO YAW TO THE LEFT TO A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 120 DEGREES. N9249L THEN TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET AND STRUCK THE TOP RAIL OF A 6 FOOT HIGH CHAIN LINK FENCE. SUCH IMPACT CAUSED A 20 FOOT SECTION OF THE TOP RAIL TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE FENCE ASSEMBLY. THE AIRCRAFT THEN TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 100 FEET AND IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A TAIL LOW ATTITUDE ON A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 120 DEGREES. N9249L THEN TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 300 FEET WHERE THE LEFT WING OF THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BARBED WIRE FENCE AND THE RIGHT WING OF THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A CHAIN LINK FENCE. SUCH IMPACT CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT WINGS, FUSELAGE, AND PROPELLER. THE AIRCRAFT THEN TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 146 FEET ON A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 120 DEGREES UNTIL A STRAND OF BARBED WIRE THAT HAD BECOME ENTANGLED WITH THE NOSE GEAR WAS STRETCHED FROM THE ATTACHMENT POINT ON A FENCE POST TO THE MAXIMUM LENGTH OF THE WIRE. SUCH BARBED WIRE ACTUALLY FUNCTIONED AS AN "ARRESTING WIRE" HOOKED TO THE NOSE GEAR, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO MAKE A SHARP PIVOT TO THE LEFT AND COME TO REST ON A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 335 DEGREES. ALL PERSONS ABOARD N9249L EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AND SUSTAINED NO INJURY THROUGHOUT THE EVENT.THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REPORTED NO PRE-ACCIDENT MECHANICAL DEFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OPERATION OF N9249L, AND A POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO PRE-ACCIDENT MECHANICAL ISSUES THAT COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDINGLY, THE PRIMARY CAUSAL FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT OF N9249L WAS THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR'S FAILURE TO INTERVENE AND ASSUME CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT FROM HIS STUDENT BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED AND SLOWED TO AN ALTITUDE AND AIRSPEED THAT WAS NOT RECOVERABLE, THUS ALLOWING THE AIRCRAFT TO STRIKE OBSTACLES ON THE GROUND. ## 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 ERA11CA497](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA497), Sep 21, 2011: Piper PA-28-161 (N9249L), Okeechobee, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath during a power-off landing and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action. 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.