Cessna 172M N6814H accident near Lafayette, Tennessee

Probable cause

The passenger’s abrupt manipulation of the flight controls during takeoff, which resulted in a loss of directional control and collision with a fence.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and the student pilot had just completed a training flight, but still needed to fly back to their home airport. A friend of the pilot sat in the back of the airplane during the training flight. The student pilot asked the instructor if his friend, who had no flight training experience other than a discovery flight, could sit up front for the return flight. The instructor agreed and provided clear instructions to the friend to not touch any of the flight controls during the flight. The friend was asked if he had any questions about the takeoff and he said he had none. During the takeoff roll, the instructor said the friend tapped the left brake with his foot, which resulted in a “slight bump” of the airplane. This motion scared the friend, who then panicked and grabbed the control yoke and pulled it all the way back while moving it to the left. The left wing briefly touched the ground and the friend repeatedly screamed, “I’m sorry!” The friend did not let go of the controls, and the instructor had to wrestle him and repeatedly tell him to let go and that he had the controls. The instructor said he needed both hands to try and overcome the force the friend had on the controls. The instructor was able to get the airplane’s wings level just before it collided with a fence, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The friend told first responders that he was the one that crashed the airplane and that “it was all his fault.”

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA255 for the full record.