NTSB Factual Report

On April 28, 2018, about 1715 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-200, N4363F, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Gainesville, Georgia. The flight instructor was fatally injured. The commercial pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Flight School of Gwinnett as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed the Gwinnett County Airport – Briscoe Field (LZU), Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 1615.

According to the commercial pilot, who was seated in the front left seat, the purpose of the flight was to practice maneuvers for a single-engine add-on rating to his commercial certificate. After they departed, they flew to the flight school's practice area, which was over Lake Lanier, before returning to the airport to practice landings/traffic pattern work. On the way back to the airport, while in level flight between 3,500 and 5,000 ft mean sea level (msl), the commercial pilot simultaneously heard a loud bang from the engine and saw the cowling expand. Engine oil then sprayed over the entire windshield and obstructed their view. The engine was producing some power, but they were unable to maintain altitude. The commercial pilot immediately focused on finding a place to make a forced landing. He said their only option was Highway 369 or the lake. The flight instructor, seated in the front right seat, took control of the airplane, and made two, descending orbits over the highway and prepared to land to the west. On the second circuit, they extended the landing gear. The flight instructor also made a distress call to air traffic control. The flight instructor opened the cabin door, so he could see outside and lined up on the road. The commercial pilot was looking out the left side window. When the airplane was about 20-30 ft above the ground, they began to flare. The commercial pilot said he remembered an impact, and then the airplane flipped over. He recalled seeing the top of the fuselage caving in before losing consciousness.

The passenger in the rear left seat was a student pilot at the flight school and was observing the flight. He said they had been practicing maneuvers when he heard a loud bang and the airplane began to shake. Oil then covered the windshield from right to left. The flight instructor said they were going to make an emergency landing. The flight instructor opened the cabin door, so he could make sure the landing area was clear, because he could not see out the windshield. The passenger said as the airplane touched down there was a loud crash sound. The next thing he knew he was upside down still strapped in to his seat via his lap belt. He unbuckled the belt and exited the airplane.

Several people witnessed the accident and reported the airplane's engine was sputtering, leaking fluid, and trailing smoke.

One witness stated that he observed the airplane about 10-15 minutes before the accident. The engine was sputtering, and the airplane made five "laps" overhead before it attempted to land to the west on Highway 369.

A second witness was driving westbound on the highway when she observed the airplane fly over her car. She said the airplane tried to land on the road but struck a vehicle followed by an explosion. The airplane then went down an embankment.

A third witness was a passenger in a car driving westbound on Highway 369 when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She said, "Loud noise and force came through the back window and almost decapitated us." Her husband, who was driving the car said, "…we were impacted in the rear of the car by a plane. I looked in rearview and saw flames and then the plane passed us on the driver's side and went off side of the road into a ditch."

The airplane collided with a set of power lines prior to touching down on the highway. It then struck a car, veered to the right, went off the road, and down a steep embankment, before coming to rest inverted on a northerly heading. The distance between the point where the airplane struck the power lines to where it came to rest was about 450 ft. There was no post-impact fire to the main wreckage; however, the right wing, which had separated from the airplane and came to rest on the opposite side of the highway was fire damaged.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fuselage, including the top and bottom of the engine cowling, the windshield and the aft section of the fuselage were coated in oil. The top of the fuselage was crushed down, left and aft. The right wing exhibited impact and postimpact fire damage. The left wing separated from the airframe at the wing root but the control cables remained connected. The outboard section of the left wing had separated and was found adjacent to the main wreckage.

The vertical stabilizer, including the rudder, was bent to the left. The left side of the horizontal stabilator was bent up. The elevator trim was neutral.

Flight control continuity was established for all flight controls from the flight control surface to the cockpit. The flaps were fully retracted, and the landing gear were extended.

The engine and cowling remained attached to the airframe and the two-bladed propeller remained attached to the engine. Both blades exhibited chordwise scoring, curling at the tips and twisting toward the blade faces.

Examination of the engine revealed the No. 2 cylinder had separated from the cylinder base pad. The No. 2 cylinder rocker box cover and a pushrod tube was protruding from the left forward side of the cowling. The No. 2 cylinder connecting rod was protruding through the top of the cowling. The No. 2 cylinder base studs and through-bolts remained in the crankcase and were fractured.

The engine was retained for further examination.

The flight instructor held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. He also held flight instructor ratings for airplane single-engine land, and instrument airplane. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on December 18, 2017.

According to information provided by the flight school, as of November 2017, the flight instructor had a total of 536 flight hours. The flight instructor began employment at the flight school in December 2017 and had flown about 135 hours between then and the time of the accident.

The commercial pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. He also held a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land, and instrument airplane. His last FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 10, 2018. The commercial pilot reported a total of about 560 flight hours.