Primary finding
Probable cause
The flight instructor’s failure to monitor the flight to ensure terrain clearance during the dark night conditions.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The flight instructor and student pilot were on an instructional flight and were returning to their home airport in dark night conditions. The student pilot was utilizing a view limiting device (foggles) and was receiving altitude and heading instructions from the flight instructor. They had begun a descent about 15 miles east of the destination airport. Shortly thereafter, the student pilot reported that the airplane struck what he thought was a tall standing object. The airplane landed hard, bounced back into the air, and impacted flat open terrain. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the right wing and engine firewall. The flight instructor did not recall any additional circumstances regarding the accident sequence. Both the flight instructor and student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.