Accident Details
A multi-engine airplane veered off the runway during a practice engine failure on takeoff maneuver, known as a V1 cut, while conducting an instructional flight. The aircraft departed the right side of the runway onto soft, muddy ground. Subsequently, the nose gear collapsed and the left propeller struck the ground.
Flight Sequence
The student pilot taxied the airplane to the runway, performed the takeoff checklist, and began the takeoff roll. After confirming that full power had been applied, the flight instructor covered the mixture controls with a plastic checklist and pulled the right engine's mixture lever to the idle cutoff position. The student was unable to maintain directional control, and before the instructor could take over the controls, the aircraft exited the runway to the right.
Pilot Information
The student pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine airplanes (land and sea) and a flight instructor certificate with an instructor rating for single-engine airplanes. The pilot had accumulated a total of 1,887 hours of flight time, of which 4.7 hours were in multi-engine airplanes. The instructor, who was not identified in the report, was performing the demonstration of an engine failure procedure.