Skip to content

WPR14CA397

2014-09-28 · Rancho Murieta, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport RIU

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during takeoff and the certified flight instructors delayed remedial action, which resulted in the stall.

Factual narrative

The pilot, who held a private pilot certificate, stated that the purpose of the flight was for him to acquire hours in the airplane with a certified flight instructor (CFI) for insurance purposes. They departed from the airplane's base to a nearby airport to practice landings. After completing about two landings, the pilot configured the airplane for a short field takeoff. During the takeoff roll, he waited for the airplane to reach rotation speed and shortly thereafter they were airborne. The airplane immediately began to veer to the left and subsequently stalled. The airplane came to rest about 50 yards off the runway surface. As a result of the impact, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. The pilot stated that there were no pre impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot, who held a private pilot certificate, stated that the purpose of the flight was for him to acquire hours in the airplane with a certified flight instructor (CFI) for insurance purposes. They departed from the airplane's base to a nearby airport to practice landings. After completing about two landings, the pilot configured the airplane for a short field takeoff. During the takeoff roll, he waited for the airplane to reach rotation speed and shortly thereafter they were airborne. The airplane immediately began to veer to the left and subsequently stalled. The airplane came to rest about 50 yards off the runway surface. As a result of the impact, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. The pilot stated that there were no pre impact mechanical malfunctions or failures 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA397.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 (stall). All research papers