On February 9, 2019, about 1039 Pacific standard time, a Bellanca 7GCAA airplane, N11666, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Watsonville, California. The flight instructor and private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight. The instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to conduct a flight review for the private pilot. They departed Watsonville Municipal Airport (WVI), Watsonville, California, to the southwest toward the coast and then set up on a left downwind for a simulated emergency landing to runway 28 at Monterey Bay Academy Airport (CA66), Watsonville, California. Due to the recent rain, they were not planning to land on the grass runway. The instructor stated that during the turn from base to final, “everything looked good” and the pilot initiated a go-around as planned. He further stated that the engine was running and producing power throughout the approach; however, he did not recall the accident sequence.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector on scene, the airplane came to rest in an upright, nose-down position about 420 ft short of the approach end of runway 28, about 25 ft from the right side of the runway. The airplane impacted terrain in a steep nose-down attitude and displayed some rotational signatures.

Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Review of the weather conditions revealed a trough of low pressure extended along the California coast in the immediate vicinity west of the accident site, with a general weak pressure gradient over the Watsonville area. The closest weather reporting location, about 3 nm, reported calm winds. A sounding model depicted a light southerly surface wind from 160° at 4 knots with no significant low-level wind shear or turbulence below 1,000 ft at the accident site.