Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Piru, California 93040
Friday, February 8, 2008 20:26 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The CFI certified flight instructor reported that during a night time training flight, the student pilot was conducting a series of simulated instrument approaches when the airplane started to encounter light to moderate turbulence. As the CFI and student pilot terminated one of the practice approaches, the airplane encountered "severe turbulence" followed by both engines losing power. The CFI initiated a forced landing to a dark area adjacent to a highway. During the descent, the CFI stated he was able to restart the left engine but had no throttle response and was unable to restart the right engine. As the descent continued, the CFI "…pulled both mixtures back to idle cutoff and pulled the fuel valves to off." He added that he was unable to see the ground until the airplane was about 50 feet above ground level. Subsequently, the airplane impacted trees and the ground before it came to rest within a small open field. The pilot-rated student receiving instruction reported while maneuvering the turbulence "became extreme" and the "airplane jolted strongly." The student pilot recalled that after the turbulence encounter, both engines lost power and despite numerous attempts, the engines would not restart. The student pilot stated after the landing, he attempted to secure the airplane and noted he was unable to move the fuel selectors to the "OFF" position and that the fuel selectors were "jammed/broken." Recovery personnel reported that 20 gallons of 100-low led fuel were drained from each wing fuel tank. Examination of the recovered airframe and fuel system revealed no evidence of pre-impact anomalies. Examination of the left and right engines and system components revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Contributing factors were the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing and dark night conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/8/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2026 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Piru |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93040 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 312421N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1185252W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2055 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 36 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CMA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 77 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 70 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23365 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 8 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 30 2008 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Van Nuys, California |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2922X |
| NTSB Number | SEA08LA073 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-44-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 44-7995309 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3800 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 1 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 84 |
| Airframe Hours | 5200 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | General Aviation Ventures Intl Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 295 William Ave Ste D |
| Aircraft Owner City | Camarillo |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 93010 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Gavin Aviation |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 295 Willis Ave. Suite D |
| Operator City | Camarillo |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93010 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KCMA |
| Departure City | Camarillo |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1900 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2008 6:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |