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CEN13CA333

2013-06-06 · Pontiac, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PTK

N549TT has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (GTEEX REVOLUTION INDEPENDENCE 19), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff and his interference with the flight instructor's ability to provide remedial action.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing a soft field takeoff procedure. During the takeoff roll, the airplane began a yaw to the right. The airplane continued to the right after the main landing gear wheels departed the runway, and the flight instructor told the student to correct back to the center of the runway. The airplane then yawed to the left past runway heading and the pitch attitude increased. The flight instructor attempted to take control of the airplane; however, the student did not let go of the controls. The flight instructor tried to reduce the pitch attitude, but the airplane stalled and impacted terrain adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight instructor reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing a soft field takeoff procedure. During the takeoff roll, the airplane began a yaw to the right. The airplane continued to the right after the main landing gear wheels departed the runway, and the flight instructor told the student to correct back to the center of the runway. The airplane then yawed to the left past runway heading and the pitch attitude increased. The flight instructor attempted to take control of the airplane; however, the student did not let go of the controls. The flight instructor tried to reduce the pitch attitude, but the airplane stalled and impacted terrain adjacent to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The flight instructor reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student pilot - C
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-(general)-Instructor/check pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13CA333.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall). All research papers