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On Dec. 14, 2023 a Diamond DA40 NG crash landed on a highway in Asheville, North Carolina, hitting powerlines and a tractor-trailer before bursting into flames on the ground. The NTSB preliminary report indicated that when the wreckage was recovered, a connecting rod was observed separated from the engine.RELATED STORY:LIFT Academy DA40 crashes, catches fire on North Carolina highwayThe plane was flying on a cross-country night flight with a student pilot and flight instructor from LIFT Academy. According to Citizen-Times Asheville, the flight instructor was 25-year-old Riley Klehr from Peewee Valley, Kentucky and the student pilot was 23-year-old Eduardo D. Vargas of Greenwood, Indiana. Klehr and Vargas escaped the plane before it caught fire, Klehr suffering minor injuries and Vargas suffering serious injuries with a broken back and spinal surgery on Dec. 15, 2023. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured. Both lanes on the highway heading downtown were closed after the crash and thousands lost power. Power was restored before midnight that night and the two lanes of highway were repaired and reopened by the next afternoon.
The two pilots on board felt a shudder followed by a loss of engine power, then loss of oil pressure and dual engine control unit failure. The flight instructor took control of the plane and used a checklist to restart the engine. The engine restated briefly before losing power again shortly after. The flight instructor was able to restart the engine again and the cockpit began to fill with smoke as the engine lost power for the last time. The flight instructor made an emergency landing on the highway, striking an energized power line and a moving vehicle before impacting the ground and catching fire.#WATCH : Plane makes forced landing on Interstate 26, Asheville fire officials confirm.Multiple emergency crews are responding to a small Plane that has crashed on I-26 highway.#PlaneCrash #Asheville #NorthCarolina #BreakingNews #LatestNews #USA #US #UnitedStates… pic.twitter.com/qJk3zBD5wq— upuknews (@upuknews1) December 15, 2023
The NTSB said the wreckage was recovered and moved to a secure facility for examination. During recovery, investigators reported that a connecting rod separated from the engine. The DA40 was awarded an airworthiness certificate on Sept. 25, 2023 and the last 100-hour maintenance inspection was completed on Dec. 9, 2023 when the engine had a total of 95 flight hours.
After the crash landing, the flight instructor was commended for his skill and composure in landing the aircraft without serious injury to people on the ground. The NTSB is continuing its investigation of the incident and will release a final report in one to two years.