Piper PA28 N7114C

Summary

On 22 April 2021 at about 19:15 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N7114C, operated by AV8 Flight School, was involved in an accident near Faribault, Minnesota, 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 2021 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Faribault, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Fairbault Muni (FBL)

Coordinates

44.3290, -93.3131

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N7114C

Category

Airplane

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

AV8 Flight School

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eden Prairie → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA197

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain control during takeoff in gusty wind conditions and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in the airplane colliding with trees and subsequently the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, while the student pilot was conducting his fourth takeoff during his first flight lesson, the airplane encountered a wind gust and entered a “sharp” left turn toward a tree line. The flight instructor took control of the airplane, verified the throttle was at full power, and adjusted the airplane’s pitch for best angle of climb airspeed. He thought the airplane had cleared the trees; however, the aft fuselage or empennage struck some branches causing the airplane to lose airspeed. The airplane entered a descent and impacted a field on the other side of the tree line. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, and the fuselage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the student pilot was taking off on runway 30 with wind from 270o at 11 knots with gusts to 15 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.