20200905016339A

On September 5, 2020 at approximately 1750 eastern daylight time, N6107L, a 1969 American AA-1, was operating as a title 14 code of federal regulations part 91 flight when it sustained substantial damage while attempting to land at the Newnan Coweta County Airport (cco). One pilot and one passenger were onboard during this flight and no significant injuries were reported. Visual meteorological conditions were present at the time of the accident.

The pilot/instructor stated that the purpose of the flight was to give a student/potential buyer of N6107L training in the aircraft. This particular flight was the third training flight the pilot had instructed with the student/buyer. The pilot/instructor stated that he was located in the right seat and the student/buyer was located in the left seat when the instructor called for a simulated engine failure and return to airport. N6107L?s position at this time, was downwind, southeast of the airport traveling parallel to the runway and approximately ¾ of the way down the runway. The throttle was brought to idle and engine failure procedures were executed followed by a left hand turn towards the runway. At a safe altitude and best glide of 75 knots, the instructor called for a go-around. The student selected full throttle but the airplane continued to sink and was not responding properly to the throttle. At this time the instructor took the controls. The aircraft continued to sink and touched down in the grass to the right side of the runway. The instructor heard a clunk, which was a result of the left landing gear hitting a runway sign. The airplane began veered to the left, so the throttle was set to idle and the pilot/instructor tried to correct to the right and stop the airplane but the airplane went across the runway, taxiway and down an embankment and hit trees. The pilot/instructor stated a fuel sample had been performed prior to flying and there were no indications of contamination or debris. He also stated that he used the sight gauges inside the airplane to estimate that there was approximately 10-11 gallons of fuel on board prior to the 45 ? 50 minute flight which led to the accident. The previous flights had not had any engine problems and all preflight checks were good before the flight. On scene, there was visible damage to both wings from the trees that stopped the airplane and the left landing gear had sheared off when it hit the taxiway sign. Due to where the airplane came to rest, and how it was positioned, any visual amount of fuel on board could not be determined. The engine controls were noted as the following: primer fully pushed in, the mixer approximately 1 inch-1.5 inches pulled out, the throttle approximately ¾ of the way pulled out and the right fuel tank selected.

On September 28, 2020, an aircraft inspection was performed on N6107L, in griffin, GA. During the inspection it was found that the recovery company had to cut off the airplane?s wings from the fuselage in order to transport the airplane from the accident scene to griffin, GA. Inspection of the wings showed that both fuel tanks had potentially been ruptured from hitting the trees. An attempt was made to drain fuel from the right and left wing, however, there was none found. A general inspection of the engine was performed and no visual issues were noted. The propeller showed no significant damage and turned properly. After finding no visual issues that would be catastrophic or keep the engine from starting, it was determined that an engine run would be performed. An external fuel tank was attached to the right tank fuel supply line, which was protruding where the wing meets the fuselage. The fuel tank selector was not moved from the position that it was found on scene (right tank). Before attempting to start, the aircraft was primed 3 times. The aircraft did not fully start on the first attempt but started without any issue on the second attempt.