N4129S

On January 11, 1999, at 0744 hours mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-181, N4129S, operated by the Airline Training Center Arizona, Inc., collided with a residential service power line and an unoccupied house during a practice forced landing near Arlington, Arizona. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the instructional flight which was performed under 14 CFR Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed, and the certified flight instructor (CFI), who held an airline transport pilot certificate, received minor injuries. The private pilot, who was receiving a postcertification (nonregulatory) progress check, and a passenger were not injured. The flight originated from Goodyear, Arizona, about 0700.

The operator estimated that the initial point of impact occurred over the house approximately 800 feet mean sea level (msl), and about 12 feet above ground level. The location was about 550 feet short of the approach end of a dirt airstrip used by crop dusters.

According to the CFI, he was familiar with the area and initiated the simulated total loss of engine power approaching the airstrip at 2,000 feet msl. The airstrip is located on a small bluff, and the airplane encountered a downdraft as it approached. The CFI directed that the student retract the wing flaps when the airplane descended below the desired glide path. The student, who was handling the flight controls, complied with the CFI's instructions. The CFI reported that seconds prior to the collision he directed that a go-around be initiated. The student applied full engine power; however, within seconds the collision occurred. The engine had not come up to full power.

The student made the following written statement regarding the sequence of events: "First I was too high so I went to flaps 40 degrees. But after recognizing [I was] getting too low and slow, I raised [the flaps] to 25 degrees. I pushed the nose over and saw the power line. [I] wanted to make a go around but the [engine] power didn't come up fast enough. My IP [CFI] grabbed the wheel, turned and pulled up, and in the next moment we crashed into the lines."

The operator, who employed the CFI, reported that it had provided the CFI with written guidance regarding the minimum altitude at which go-arounds were to be initiated during the practice of simulated forced landings. In pertinent part, the operator's Procedures and Techniques manual stated the following: "Every go around from a simulated engine failure shall be performed by the student prior to 500 feet AGL if not approaching a paved runway."