A flight instructor and her student were practicing emergency procedures before declaring a full-blown emergency and the plane crashed, killing the instructor and seriously injuring the student, officials said.
The pilot was practicing shutting down one engine of the multi-engine plane, according to a report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board about the March 30 plane crash at the Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The student was heading toward landing with the right engine of the Piper PA-44 aircraft idling, before executing a missed approach. But the report says that when he pressed the throttles, neither engine had any thrust.
The instructor takes over, declares an emergency and attempts to land. But the plane stalled and fell to the ground, the report said. The instructor, identified as Valentina Guillen, 22, of Argentina, was pronounced dead at the scene. The student is a 19-year-old who was seriously injured.
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A witness said the plane went into a nosedive and passengers were trapped inside.
Officials from the St. Lucie County Fire District and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.
“A witness to the incident indicated that the plane was approaching the runway, when the plane suddenly fell from the sky, causing it to plunge into the runway,” a sheriff’s office report states.
Authorities also said two people were trapped inside and firefighters had to use equipment to get them out. The surviving passenger was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
The student and instructor were training at Aviator College, where Director of Academic Affairs Roxanne Palmer previously told TCPalm, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the two were in commercial pilot training and were making their second flight of the day.
The report states that the plane was inspected the day before the accident.
The school did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Wednesday, but told local station WPTV that it was “still working with all of our oversight agencies on all actions related to the both the incident and our ability to move forward.” many spaces.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The fatal plane crash at Aviator College in Fort Pierce occurred during training.
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