Piper PA24 N155TE accident near Friendly, Maryland

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during an aborted landing and the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action.

NTSB analysis

During the instructional flight, the pilot performed maneuvers and procedures with the flight instructor to prepare the pilot for an instrument proficiency check. After completing the instructional portion of the flight, the pilot flew the airplane back to its home base. During the final approach to the runway, the airspeed decayed from the target speed of 85 mph to 80 mph, and the pilot lowered the nose to correct. During the landing flare, the descent rate increased, and the pilot added power to arrest the descent rate. The airplane bounced after touchdown, and the pilot attempted to abort the landing. The flight instructor “felt” the airplane settling towards the ground again and applied aft elevator to cushion what he thought would be a hard impact. The pilot said, “you are fighting me” and the flight instructor released the controls. The airplane then continued in a nose high pitch attitude off the left side of the runaway and impacted a parked airplane before eventually coming to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the outboard right wing, right aileron, and right wing spar. Both pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA015 for the full record.