NTSB ERA22LA143 — 2022-03-02 · Manassas, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N5627W

Make / Model: PIPER PA-28-150
Year of manufacture: 1962 · 60 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19620905
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A731BA

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N5627W Piper PA28 None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s improper left rudder input after power application during the touch-and-go landing which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with airport lighting equipment. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the student.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during the takeoff portion of a touch-an-go landing, the student applied an “extreme amount” of left rudder and the airplane began to veer left and impacted a light with the wingtip, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The instructor stated that he was not guarding the rudder pedals and attempted to assume control of the airplane, but the event happened very quickly and there was not enough time to correct and center the airplane over the runway. The instructor stated that during debriefing later, the student indicated that he lost control of the rudder. Post-accident inspection of the rudder flight control system by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Rudder control system-Incorrect use/operation
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA22LA143.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers