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WPR10CA172

2010-03-21 · Phoenix, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport DVT

Current FAA registration · N428PA

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-181
Year of manufacture
2001 · 9 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20010727
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A51A9D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The flight instructor's failure to attain and maintain adequate airspeed while demonstrating a soft-field takeoff.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor was demonstrating a soft field takeoff to his student. During the takeoff roll, he applied full back pressure on the yoke; he heard the stall horn and he lowered the nose. As the aircraft left the ground, the flight instructor heard the stall horn a second time. The airplane's right wing began to rise as the aircraft reached an estimated altitude of 20 feet above ground level. The flight instructor checked that the throttle was full forward, but the airplane would not accelerate. As the airplane continued to turn left, it departed the left side of the runway, and the left wing impacted a runway information sign. The airplane came to a stop in the grass off the left side of the runway. The left wing's forward spar was damaged and the left fuel tank was ruptured. The right wing's outer 4 feet (estimated) was bent up and the engine's fire wall was wrinkled. The flight instructor was demonstrating a soft-field takeoff to his student. During the takeoff roll, he applied full back pressure on the yoke, heard the stall horn, and lowered the nose. As the aircraft left the ground, the flight instructor heard the stall horn a second time. The airplane's right wing began to rise as the aircraft reached an estimated altitude of 20 feet above ground level. The flight instructor checked that the throttle was full forward, but the airplane would not accelerate. As the airplane continued to turn left it departed the left side of the runway and the left wing impacted a runway information sign. The airplane came to a stop in the grass off the left side of the runway. The left wing's forward spar was damaged and the left fuel tank was ruptured. The right wing's outer 4 feet (estimated) was bent up and the engine's firewall was wrinkled. 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-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_WPR10CA172.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 (stall). All research papers