- Date
- December 2, 2016, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Midland, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4149RPiper PA46
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 10, 2017
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20161202022669A
- Case key
- 94716
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 pilot’s improper landing flare and subsequent hard landing while demonstrating a short-field landing and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Findings · 4
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 pilot receiving instruction reported that, during an annual insurance flight review, he was told to perform a short-field landing for the final landing. The flight instructor told him to be "50 ft. over the numbers at 75 KIAS [knots indicated airspeed], then go to flight idle, push the nose down, and land short." On short final, the pilot obtained the target altitude and airspeed, then reduced the power to flight idle, and the airplane dropped rapidly. He advanced the power lever, but the turbine-powered engine was slow to respond due to the spool-up lag, and the airplane landed hard and bounced. The pilot reported they taxied back to the hangar with no further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The substantial damage was discovered later during a Federal Aviation Administration evaluation for repairs for a ferry permit. The ferry permit was submitted after receiving an engineering evaluation on the structure of the fuselage to allow the company to fly the airplane to a more appropriate repair station. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight manual for the PA-46-350P states: "for a short field technique, flaps are to be full down, airspeed 78 KIAS, throttle as required. Once over the obstacle on final, throttle reduced to idle. After touchdown, brakes maximum."
Factual narrative
The pilot receiving instruction reported that during an annual insurance flight review, he was told to perform a short field landing for the final landing. The flight instructor told him to be "50ft. over the numbers at 75 KIAS (knots indicated airspeed), then go to flight idle, push the nose down, and land short". The pilot further reported that on short final he obtained the target altitude and airspeed, then reduced the power to flight idle, and the airplane dropped rapidly. He advanced the power lever but the turbine powered engine was slow to respond due to the spool up lag, and the airplane landed hard and bounced. The pilot reported they taxied back to the hangar with no further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The substantial damage was discovered later during a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) evaluation for repairs for a ferry permit. The ferry permit was submitted after receiving an engineering evaluation on the structure of the fuselage, to allow the company to fly the airplane to a more appropriate repair station. The pilot reported there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight manual for the PA-46-350P states: for a short field technique, flaps are to be full down, airspeed 78 KIAS, throttle as required. Once over the obstacle on final, throttle reduced to idle. After touchdown, brakes maximum.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4149R
- Reported as
- Piper PA46 (350P)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4636226
- Built
- 1999
- Airframe hours
- 2,165
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A-35, 560 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 17, 2015
- Departed
- OKV · Winchester, VA
- Destination
- HWY · Midland, VA
- Airport
- HWY · Warrenton-Fauquier, runway 33, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot
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
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 15, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,430 total · 263 in this make and model · 2,346 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 28, 2015
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,100 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KHWY
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 29, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 902 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.