NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN23LA234
Registry · N771ND
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-181
Year of manufacture
2018 · 5 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-B4A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20180607
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA6DEE
Registrant of record
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The student pilot’s failure to attain a proper takeoff attitude while demonstrating a soft field takeoff and his improper control inputs resulting in a dragged wing. Contributing to the accident were the gusting wind conditions.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor and his student were performing a soft field take off following a touch-and-go landing. The operator reported that the airplane started to drift to the left with a “higher than normal” pitch attitude and the airplane encountered a wind gust. The right wing dropped and contacted the runway surface. According to the flight instructor, during the take-off, the student “instantly” applied right aileron, instead of right rudder, to maintain the runway centerline. The flight instructor took over controls and continued the takeoff. While in the traffic pattern, the flight instructor noticed an “abnormality” on the right wing and landed the airplane without further incident. A visual inspection found that the right aileron sustained substantial damage. The operator stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. About the time of the accident wind was recorded as 160° at 17 knots with gusts to 29 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Contributed to outcome
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_CEN23LA234.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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