No fatalities

9 May 2009: DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA 40 — Mac Dan Aviation — Montgomery, NY

Montgomery, NY, United States

On 9 May 2009, a DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC DA 40 operated by Mac Dan Aviation was involved in an aviation accident near Montgomery, NY. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: 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. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A flight instructor with four total hours as a CFI and a student pilot experienced a hard landing during a short-field approach practice. The airplane sustained structural damage after the student failed to maintain airspeed and the instructor missed the throttle while attempting to add power.

Flight Details

A flight instructor (CFI) with a total of four hours as a CFI was conducting an instructional flight with a student pilot. The student pilot had performed three touch-and-go landings to runway 21. The surface winds at the airport were from 200 degrees at 12 knots.

Approach and Landing

The CFI reported that the student had not maintained airspeed on previous approaches, resulting in a high sink rate. The CFI then instructed the student to conduct a short-field approach with an obstacle. The student completed the before-landing check, lowered the flaps to the first notch, and turned onto the base leg. Subsequently, the student lowered the flaps to the full down position, turned final, and continued the approach.

Collision with Runway

As the airplane descended to approximately 25 feet above the runway, 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 but missed the throttle and instead flared the airplane. The airplane then collided with the runway hard, resulting in structural damage to the airframe. The CFI reported no mechanical problems with the airplane.

Contributing factors

Causes

Student pilot

Other contributing factors

Instructor/check pilot