What happened
On January 18, 2025, at approximately 12:10 Mountain standard time, a Cessna P210N, registration N4626K, was involved in an accident near Prescott, Arizona. The aircraft was being operated by the Wyeth Family Trust as part of a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight.
During a local instructional flight, the student pilot was cleared by the tower controller to enter the airport traffic pattern for runway 3R. While flying approximately 200 feet above ground level, the student pilot observed an excessive rate of descent. In an attempt to correct the descent, the student pilot increased the throttle, but the engine power did not respond to the change.
The flight instructor verified that the throttle was in the full forward position, then attempted to troubleshoot by switching the fuel selector valve from the right to the left position and setting the mixture to full rich. Upon determining that the engine power remained unchanged, the instructor took control of the aircraft and decided to perform a forced landing.
At approximately 50 feet above ground level, the instructor reduced the throttle to idle, moved the mixture to idle cut-off, and turned the fuel selector valve to the off position. The aircraft landed hard and bounced several times before sliding off the side of an embankment, stopping just short of a roadway. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the right wing. There were no injuries to the flight instructor or the student pilot.