Accident Details
On 7 October 1999 at 1732 Z, a Piper PA23-250 aircraft, registration ZS-JTZ, was involved in an accident at Grand Central Airport (FAGC) on Runway 35. The flight was a night training operation conducted by a commercial pilot with a total of 3,221.40 flying hours, including 49.10 hours on the aircraft type. The aircraft had two occupants: a flight instructor and a student pilot. According to the instructor, the purpose of the flight was aircraft familiarization for the student prior to a multi-engine conversion.
Sequence of Events
During the landing on the downhill slope of Runway 35 at an indicated airspeed of 95 mph, with the surface wind from 70 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 28 knots, the aircraft did not decelerate sufficiently. The instructor realized that the aircraft would not stop before the end of the runway. He instructed the student to increase brake pressure, as there were no toe brakes on the co-pilot's side. However, the student had been releasing pressure on the left brake to maintain directional control because the right brake was not operating properly, but did not communicate this to the instructor.
The instructor then shut down both engines and applied left rudder to intentionally ground loop the aircraft to the left before the runway end. The aircraft veered left off the runway onto the grass and over the embankment at the side of the runway. The right and left wings and the lower nose section were subsequently damaged. No injuries were reported.
Probable Cause
The probable cause, as stated in the official report, is that the aircraft landed in too deep with a strong crosswind component on the downhill slope of Runway 35. The instructor then ground looped the aircraft when he realized that it would not be able to stop before the end of the runway.