Accident Overview
On September 3, 2014, at approximately 1238 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-46-350P airplane, registration N747TH, was substantially damaged while landing at Cortez Municipal Airport (CEZ), Cortez, Colorado. The commercial pilot and his flight instructor sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Philburto Aviation, LTD, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local instructional flight without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
Flight Maneuvers
The purpose of the flight was to satisfy the pilot's annual insurance currency requirements in the accident airplane. Earlier that morning, the pilots completed several visual flight rules (VFR) maneuvers before conducting takeoff-and-landings at CEZ. After several uneventful landings, they decided to perform a simulated loss of engine power following a takeoff from runway 21, with a planned return for a downwind landing on runway 3.
Simulated Engine Failure
During initial climb from runway 21, after reaching 1,200 feet above ground level (agl), the flight instructor reduced engine power to flight idle and feathered the propeller. The pilot reduced airplane pitch and entered a 45-degree bank left turn toward the airport, maintaining best-glide airspeed (90 knots). After rolling wings level aligned with runway 3, the airplane appeared lower than expected but the instructor believed sufficient altitude remained and told the pilot to continue without increasing engine power.
As the airplane crossed the runway 3 threshold at 40 feet agl, the flight instructor decided to abort the maneuver and recover with powered flight. He took control, advanced the engine power lever to full forward, and increased pitch to arrest the descent, but did not perceive an increase in thrust. The airspeed decreased rapidly, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall about 30 feet above the runway. It impacted the runway approximately 500 feet from the approach threshold, then slid off into a grassy area. The engine continued operating after the accident and was secured by pulling the condition lever aft.
Post-Accident Observations
The flight instructor reported that he did not recall advancing the propeller control when aborting, so the propeller likely remained feathered. Neither pilot remembered extending the landing gear after the simulated failure, but both recalled seeing the gear position lights illuminated. The instructor postulated that the landing gear had not been retracted after takeoff, resulting in reduced climb gradient and glide performance. The instructor noted that maintaining safe airspeed after taking control could have prevented the accident, and that his delayed decision to abort resulted in an insufficient margin of safety.
Weather Conditions
At 1253, the Cortez automated surface observing system (ASOS) reported: wind 220 degrees at 12 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear sky, temperature 29°C, dew point 1°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.07 inches of mercury.