The flight instructor was conducting a flight review for the private pilot/owner of the Piper PA-28-140.
The pilot departed from the 5,008-foot runway in Toccoa, Georgia, performed a touch-and-go landing without incident, and entered the traffic pattern for a simulated short-field landing. While on short final, the plane struck a berm that was located just prior to runway and sustained substantial damage to the landing gear and right wing.
The flight instructor stated that he realized that the airplane was low and expected the pilot to add engine power, however he did not attempt to manipulate the flight controls or provide any verbal instructions.
The pilot stated that he also realized that the airplane was low, but did not react prior to contact with the ground.
The pilot reported about 600 hours of total flight experience, which included about 475 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The flight instructor reported about 3,430 hours of total flight experience, which included about 200 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to maintain proper altitude and the flight instructor’s failure to provide correction action, which resulted in a collision with terrain during landing.
NTSB Identification: ERA15CA002
This October 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Learn from the misfortune of others
Sign up now to receive NTSB Accident Reports and GA news in your email inbox. Join 110,000+ fellow aviators.
another Captain Me tou Low dodo?? ….600 hours and freezes on the controls when has to apply power when low?? Many like that i have seen..Panicky Pilots are killers..Most are owners due cannot pass flight schools test for renting..I rent..
if she flies, floats or fakes it, better rent it, then walk away.
Maybe he didn’t know what a berm was. I’ve never seen that on a flight review.
John. My mama said the same thing! BUT somebody needs to say something, this is just plain dumb!
my mama said if you got nothing nice to say about someone don’t say anything at all so in this case I’m not saying nothing!
A CFI can never relax and must always be ahead of the aircraft especially on landing & take off.
FOR SURE!
I am a CFI and I have read numerous accident reports. I honestly do not understand how some of these idiots ever got a pilots license . Can you imagine what it would be like if a lot more people got a pilots license like AOPA and EAA would like
The flight review is the primary cause of the accident.
If the instructor is not going to do or say anything with danger looming then why was he even sitting in the front seat? Isn’t the whole point of the review to see if any bad habits have been formed and correct them and if so then the CFI should have at least said something to the effect that the pilot was getting too low and needed to add some power.
+1 A CFI ‘on the payroll’ doing a flight review is not a passenger.
Now look at Air Asia B777 incident at San Francisco Intnl. several years back. a flight deck full of captains. So, no one speaks up and blames it on CAVA and no autopilot assistance, Right!!!!