Piper PA38 N6400A

Summary

On 2 September 2019 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA38 registered N6400A, operated by Pilots Choice Aviation Equipment Leasing, was involved in an accident near Taylor, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 September 2019 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Taylor, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Taylor Muni (T74)

Coordinates

30.5728, -97.4431

Aircraft

Piper PA38

Registration

N6400A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Pilots Choice Aviation Equipment Leasing

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Georgetown → Taylor

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19CA336

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student's soft-field takeoff, which resulted in an excessive pitch attitude, settling effect, and impact with a ditch off the end of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting a training flight, which included touch-and-go landings. During the landing rollout and with about 2,000 ft of runway remaining, the instructor directed the student to transition to a soft-field takeoff. The student conducted the takeoff and attempted to climb with a high pitch attitude, but the airplane settled back to the ground off the end of the runway. The airplane subsequently impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The instructor reported that the pitch attitude during the climbout was too high and that he should not have directed the student to attempt a soft-field takeoff given the runway distance remaining. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.