Cessna 172 N97883 accident near Newport News, Virginia

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s failure to monitor the student pilot on takeoff and her delayed remedial action to stop him from exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in a low altitude aerodynamic stall from which she was unable to recover.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor was giving the student pilot his first flight lesson in an airplane. According to the pilot-rated passenger, who was observing the flight in the back seat, the student pilot assisted with the takeoff. The instructor told the student that she would tell him when to start pulling back during the takeoff roll. The instructor then initiated the takeoff roll and when the airplane reached rotation speed, she told the student pilot to start pulling back. The student pilot pulled back on the control wheel and the airplane began to climb. However, he continued to pull back and the airplane stalled less than 200 ft above the ground. The left wing dropped, and the airplane descended toward the ground. The flight instructor tried to get control of the airplane, but it was too late, and the airplane impacted a ditch adjacent to the runway. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Though part of the flight lesson syllabus included instruction on the positive exchange of flight controls, the student pilot could not recall what instruction the flight instructor gave him regarding the takeoff. His only memory of the flight was when the airplane was airborne and stalling. He did not remember if his hands were on the controls. The pilot-rated passenger did not recall the flight instructor discussing positive transfer of the flight controls before taking off.

Though the flight instructor provided the student pilot instruction on how to perform the takeoff, she most likely did not anticipate that he would continue to pull back on the controls after the airplane became airborne. The airplane then exceeded its critical angle of attack and stalled. The instructor attempted to regain control, but the airplane did not have sufficient altitude to recover and it impacted the ground.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA23FA008 for the full record.