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ERA14CA211

2014-04-27 · Woodbine, New Jersey, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OBI

Current FAA registration · N4615Y

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19930917
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5A070

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor's delayed reaction to the loss of directional control, which resulted in a ground loop.

Factual narrative

According to the flight instructor, the accident flight was the student pilot's first flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The primary activity for the flight was to be instruction in takeoffs and landings. On the final landing of the flight, the airplane began to "swerve" to the right during the landing roll. In an attempt to regain control of the airplane, the flight instructor added full engine power to go-around. The airplane ground looped, pitched forward, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer during the accident sequence, and the instructor did not report any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. According to the flight instructor, the accident flight was the student pilot's first flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The primary activity for the flight was to be instruction in takeoffs and landings. On the final landing of the flight, the airplane began to "swerve" to the right during the landing roll. In an attempt to regain control of the airplane, the flight instructor added full engine power to go-around. The airplane ground looped, pitched forward, and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer during the accident sequence, and the instructor did not report any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_ERA14CA211.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). All research papers