Pilot Debrief

LUSCOMBE 8 near Fort Valley, GA — 2015-01-16

Final reportERA15FA103
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Date
2015-01-16
Location
Fort Valley, GA, USA
Airport
GA81
Aircraft
LUSCOMBE 8
Registration
N1745K
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to maintain airspeed during an approach with a simulated engine failure, which resulted in an exceedance of the wing’s critical angle-of-attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall/spin.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was providing the private pilot with 1 hour of flight experience in the tailwheel airplane to meet insurance company requirements. About 20 minutes after departure, while performing a simulated engine-out approach to landing, the flight instructor allowed the airspeed to decay, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall, about 300 ft short of the runway. The airplane impacted the ground in a steep, left-wing-down attitude. The private pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Instructor could have aborted the simulated engine-out approach earlier.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 8 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents8

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