- Date
- August 23, 2023, 07:05 local (13:05 UTC)
- Place
- Fairfield, UT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N989PADiamond DA20
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20230823012929A
- Case key
- 192945
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 flight pilots improper fuel management, which resulted a total loss of engine power, and impact with terrain during an off-airport landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s failure to follow the airplane checklist.
Findings · 2
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 reported that while conducting a simulated engine failure, the student terminated the maneuver, with the fuel mixture leaned, by advancing the throttle. The engine did not respond with full power, and the flight instructor then “advanced” the mixture. The engine subsequently lost total power. The flight instructor attempted but could not restart the engine. The flight instructor then selected an off-airport landing site, and during the landing roll, the airplane impacted a dirt “berm” which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane by the flight instructor revealed the mixture was not in the full rich position and the fuel pump switch was not in the on position, which was contrary to the checklist for engine failure after takeoff procedures. According to the owner, who conducted a postaccident engine test run, the engine exhibited no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N989PA
- Reported as
- Diamond DA20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- C0189
- Built
- 2002
- Airframe hours
- 9,948.5
- Engine
- Continental IO-240-B3B, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 18, 2023
- Departed
- SPK · Spanish Fork, UT
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Stall warning system
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 22, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,347 total · 279 in this make and model · 1,306 as pilot in command · 61 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 44 total · 44 in this make and model · 17 as pilot in command · 34 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- KPVU, 19 nm away
- METAR
- KPVU 231456Z 10SM FEW100 20/14 A3023 RMK AO2 SLP190 T02000144 52006
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 11, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.7 MB 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.