Durango-La Plata County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Durango, Colorado 81301
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 19:06 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff in the twin-engine airplane, the flight instructor announced a simulated engine failure and expected the student pilot to land on the remaining runway. The student pilot responded by reducing both engines to idle power, but did not pitch the airplane's nose down enough to maintain sufficient airspeed. The flight instructor responded by lowering the airplane's nose to the proper attitude before releasing the controls. Moments later the flight instructor realized that the student pilot was not arresting the rate of descent and was unable to react in time to prevent a hard landing. The airplane's fuselage and right wing sustained structural damage during the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's improper landing flare and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/11/2009
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1906
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Durango
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81301
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 370903N
Event Location Longitude 1074508W
Event Location Airport Durango-La Plata County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DRO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 6685
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25353
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 9 2009 3:39PM
User who most recently changed record lebt
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8245H
NTSB Number CEN09CA213
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BEECH
Aircraft Model 58
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number TH-1635
Certified Max Gross Weight 5500
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Nov 21 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 14224
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SAN JUAN PILOT TRAINING INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1296 W NAVAJO ST
Aircraft Owner City FARMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87401-5400
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SAN JUAN PILOT TRAINING INC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 1296 W NAVAJO ST
Operator City FARMINGTON
Operator State NM
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 87401-5400
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 DRO
Departure City Durango
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1904
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code DRO
Destination City Durango
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 9 2009 3:41PM
User who most recently changed record lebt
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 9201
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --