Pilot Debrief

Piper PA38 near Taylor, TX — 2019-09-02

Final reportCEN19CA336
Sign in to save
Date
2019-09-02
Location
Taylor, TX, USA
Airport
T74
Aircraft
Piper PA38
Registration
N6400A
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student's soft-field takeoff, which resulted in an excessive pitch attitude, settling effect, and impact with a ditch off the end of the runway.

NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting a training flight, which included touch-and-go landings. During the landing rollout and with about 2,000 ft of runway remaining, the instructor directed the student to transition to a soft-field takeoff. The student conducted the takeoff and attempted to climb with a high pitch attitude, but the airplane settled back to the ground off the end of the runway. The airplane subsequently impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The instructor reported that the pitch attitude during the climbout was too high and that he should not have directed the student to attempt a soft-field takeoff given the runway distance remaining. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB coding

Related mishaps