- Date
- May 9, 2009, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Montgomery, NY
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N482MADiamond Aircraft Ind DA 40
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 28, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA Teterboro FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090509010259I
- Case key
- 73879
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control on landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's lack of total experience as an instructor and delayed corrective action.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor (CFI), who had 4 total hours as a CFI at the time of the accident, was conducting an instructional flight with a student pilot. The student pilot made 3 touch-and-go landings to Runway 21. The surface winds at the airport were 200 degrees at 12 knots. The CFI stated that the student did not maintain airspeed, resulting in a sink rate on the previous approaches. He instructed the student to conduct a short field approach with an obstacle. The student conducted the before landing check, lowered the flaps to the first notch and turned on base. The student lowered flaps to the full down position, turned final, and continued the approach. The airplane descended to 25 feet over the runway when the airspeed decreased and the airplane entered a vertical rate of descent. The student pilot did not apply power. The CFI reached over to add power, missed the throttle, flared the airplane, and it collided with the runway hard, resulting in structural damage to the airframe. No mechanical problems were reported by the CFI.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor (CFI) who has 4 total hours as a CFI was conducting an instructional flight with a student pilot. The student pilot made 3 touch and go landings to runway 21. The surface winds at the airport were 200 degrees at 12 knots. The CFI stated the student did not maintain airspeed resulting in a sink rate on the previous approaches. He instructed the student to conduct a short field approach with an obstacle. The student conducted the before landing check, lowered the flaps to the first notch and turned on base. The student lowered flaps to the full down position, turned final, and continued the approach. The airplane descended to 25 feet over the runway when the airspeed decreased and the airplane entered a vertical rate of descent. The student pilot did not apply power. The CFI reached over to add power, missed the throttle, flared the airplane, and it collided with the runway hard resulting in structural damage to the airframe. No mechanical problems were reported by the CFI.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N482MA
- Reported as
- Diamond Aircraft Ind DA 40
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 40.552
- Airframe hours
- 601
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-MIA+, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Mac Dan Aviation
- Registered owner
- Spr Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 5, 2009 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- MGJ · Montgomery, NY
- Destination
- MGJ · Montgomery, NY
- Airport
- MGJ · Orange County Airport, runway 21, 5,007 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 7, 2008
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 552 total · 120 in this make and model · 425 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 100 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.50 inHg
- Observed at
- MGJ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.