Piper PA-22-150 N4552A accident near Morganton, North Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot and flight instructor’s failure to maintain directional control while maneuvering on the runway, which resulted in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to complete a positive exchange of flight control following the loss of directional control.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot recently purchased the tailwheel-equipped airplane and was receiving make/model specific recurrency training from the flight instructor. Following a successful landing, the flight instructor briefed the pilot that the next takeoff would be an exercise in rudder management and maintaining runway alignment by reducing engine power during the takeoff roll after the tail rose off the ground. The exercise would end when about 1,000 feet of runway remained, after which the pilot would take off. The pilot stated that he understood the exercise would be a type of high-speed taxi, and that the flight instructor would operate the throttle. During the subsequent maneuver, the flight instructor described that when the tail rose up and he reduced engine power, the pilot initially applied right rudder to correct for the airplane’s minimal drift to the left, but then did not relax that right rudder input. The flight instructor then called for the pilot to apply left rudder, and the flight instructor began to apply left rudder himself, but he felt resistance to the control input. The flight instructor then repeatedly verbalized for the pilot to transfer control of the airplane to him, but that did not occur until after the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The airplane subsequently traversed an excavated area and an earthen berm before striking a drainage ditch and coming to rest. The flight instructor was seriously injured and the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged.

Following the accident, the pilot described that this takeoff technique was different from the one that he had originally been trained to perform. Specifically, the flight instructor told him to place the control yoke full forward at the start of the takeoff roll so that the tail would rise up immediately, rather than holding the control yoke aft and raising the tail only after speed was attained. Of the previous takeoffs he had made using this technique, including the accident maneuver, the pilot stated that he felt that he never had the control authority that he should. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA247 for the full record.