What happened
On July 24, 2024, at approximately 15:55 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-34-220T, registration N134MG, was involved in an accident near Roy, Utah. The aircraft was being operated by CSA Aircraft Leasing LLC as a Part 91 instructional flight.
The flight instructor and the student pilot departed from Ogden-Hinckley Airport (OGD) to perform single-engine maneuvers. After returning to the airport, the crew performed a practice instrument approach to runway 03, followed by a missed approach. They then began a second practice instrument approach simulating a left engine failure. During this maneuver, the crew noted that the right main landing gear indicator failed to show the gear as down and locked. The crew attempted several troubleshooting steps, including cycling the gear, swapping light bulbs, and attempting an emergency extension, but the indication did not change.
After performing a low approach over runway 03, where air traffic control reported the gear appeared to be down, the crew waited for fire and rescue personnel to be positioned near the runway. While circling east of the airport, the crew executed a left crosswind turn. During this turn, the student advanced power to the left engine, and the instructor shut down the right engine to prevent potential damage to the propeller and engine in the event of a gear collapse.
Initially, the aircraft maintained altitude at 92 knots indicated airspeed. However, as the aircraft moved onto the downwind leg, an "over-boost" light illuminated, indicating the left engine was exceeding the manifold pressure limit. While the instructor attempted to restart the right engine, the crew determined they needed to land immediately south of the runway due to altitude and airspeed constraints. The instructor took control and maneuvered the aircraft toward a road. During the landing, the aircraft struck multiple trees and impacted a road before coming to rest upright against a tree in a residential yard.
The accident resulted in 1 serious injury to the flight instructor and 1 minor injury to the student pilot. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.