LAX03LA302 · Piper PA-34-220T

During a go-around attempt from a downwind approach for landing the airplane descended to ground impact on the runway. The certified flight instructor (CFI) said that after turning inbound from the procedure turn during a practice NDB-A approach he idled the left engine to simulate an engine failure. The student executed the emergency procedures for a simulated engine out approach. The CFI set the power on the left engine to simulate zero thrust. The airplane was configured with the landing gear up and the flaps were set at 10 degrees, for an intended circle to land approach to runway 03. Upon entering the traffic pattern the student was too close to the runway on the downwind leg and overshot the runway and was high turning base to final. The student pulled the engines to idle, extended the flaps to 25 degrees, lowered the landing gear, and completed the landing checklist. The CFI called for a go-around and the student applied both throttles forward but the CFI noticed they "weren't really climbing." The CFI confirmed that both throttles were forward and then retracted the landing gear and the flaps; the airplane was not climbing and the student in the back seat told them to "watch the airspeed." They pushed the nose forward attempting to maintain the airspeed above 66 knots. The airplane continued to descend until contacting the ground. The airplane came to rest in the dirt area between the taxiway and runway 6/24. Runway 24 was the active runway at the time. The winds were from 280 degrees at 12 knots, and the density altitude was calculated at 9,080 feet. The runway selected by the CFI, runway 3, was 3,930 feet long and 60 feet wide; it was not the active runway, and was not equipped with runway lighting. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left propeller signatures were consistent with rotation at ground impact, but not at a significant power level. The right propeller signatures were consistent with high power. After substituting another propeller, the left engine was placed onto a test stand; it started within a few propeller blade revolutions, responded to throttle operation, and ran smoothly without hesitation. The pilot operating handbook for the airplane calls for the flaps to be raised on both normal and single engine go-arounds; however, a cautionary note says that a loss of altitude may result until a climb is established. The manufacturer calculated that the airplane should have had a positive climb rate of 90 feet per minute with the gear and flaps retracted and the left engine at zero thrust.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset