What happened
During a public-use instructional flight, a flight instructor and two student pilots, both of whom held military ratings, were performing maneuvers in the traffic pattern. The flight had been conducting a series of touch-and-go landings and had previously communicated a single-engine approach to air traffic control. The aircraft was attempting a full-stop landing at an active runway.
As the aircraft approached the runway, it was observed at an altitude between 60 and 80 feet above ground level, positioned south of the approach end of the runway. During this phase of flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden yaw to the right followed by a yaw to the left. The aircraft subsequently struck the terrain while in a 45-degree left-wing-low attitude. The impact caused the aircraft to disappear from view. There were three fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating in a pattern-making capacity involving multiple touch-and-go maneuvers.
- The flight was transitioning from a single-engine approach to a full-stop landing.
- The aircraft's final attitude before impact was a 45-degree left-wing-low orientation.