Student pilot training for engine failure preceded Colorado plane crash
Two pilots aboard a twin-engine plane which attempted to make an unplanned landing on Interstate 25 last summer were practicing emergency procedures when the aircraft provided them a genuine problem, according to a federal report.
A preliminary report posted by the National Transportation Safety Board indicated the Tecnam P2006T lost altitude after the two pilots shut down one of the craft's two engines. They did this to practice their response to an unplanned engine failure.
However, the engine was reluctant to restart, according to the report.
The flight instructor and pilot-in-training did get the engine to restart but immediately noticed performance issues.
"[T]he airplane required additional right rudder to maintain directional control and the engine coolant levels and engine RPM (speed) decreased," the NTSB report stated.
The flight instructor took over the plane's controls at this time and pointed the plane toward nearby Perry Park Airport, a small, private airstrip immediately north of Larkspur and west of I-25.
The plane, however, continued to descend despite the pilots' efforts to maintain altitude. Together, the pilots agreed that Perry Park Airport was unreachable. They decided to attempt a landing instead on the interstate, according to the report.
They approached with one prop spinning, flying with the flow of southbound traffic, as seen in one witness's cell phone video. But just prior to touching down, the plane's left wing struck a road sign protruding from the concrete jersey barrier between the directions of traffic. This caused the plane to veer left. It fortunately climbed over the traffic in the northbound lanes before tumbling into a creekside marsh east side of the interstate.
Firefighters waded through waist-deep water to reach the two pilots who were both sitting outside the plane. The were taken to a hospital, one with serious injuries and one with minor. They have not been identified.
The aircraft is owned by Aspen Flying Club based at Centennial Airport, according to its registration with the Federal Aviation Administration. The company has a fleet of civilian planes which can be rented. It also operates a flight school.
Prior to the crash, the two pilots exercised five full-stop landings at Centennial before heading southwest to practice the single-engine procedure.
The NTSB continues to investigate the crash using data from several recording devices removed from the plane. Final crash reports from the agency typically take about a year to compile.
