Piper PA-28-181 N4402A

Summary

On 22 April 2023 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N4402A, operated by CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc, was involved in an accident near Mesa, Arizona, 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

22 April 2023 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Mesa, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Falcon Field (FFZ)

Coordinates

33.4608, -111.7283

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N4402A

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23LA164

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, during an instructional flight with the student pilot at the flight controls, they realized the airplane was high while they were on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern. After turning onto final approach, the student pilot conducted a forward slip to decrease altitude and intercept the glideslope. When over the runway, the student pilot had applied too much left rudder, and on touchdown the airplane immediately veered left. The student pilot then overcorrected to the right. The flight instructor stated, he then took control of the airplane and attempted to correct back to the left, however he was unable to regain directional control. The airplane departed the runway surface impacting a runway sign, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.