20230630008729I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-32-260 · Winston Salem, NC · June 30, 2023

Date
June 30, 2023 · 15:37 local
Place
Winston Salem, NC
Airport
Smith Reynolds
Phase of flight
Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
No damage
Aircraft
N31RF
Reported as
Piper PA-32-260
Reported engine
Lycoming 0-540
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
197 total346 in this make and model16 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot picked up his aircraft from annual inspection. He completed a preflight inspection using a checklist, but failed to complete all items on that checklist. This caused him to miss that the rudder trim was full left. Upon takeoff the aircraft pulled hard to the left and the pilot was able to control the aircraft and come back around to the same runway for landing.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT PICKED UP HIS AIRCRAFT FROM ANNUAL INSPECTION. HE COMPLETED A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION USING A CHECKLIST, BUT FAILED TO COMPLETE ALL ITEMS ON THAT CHECKLIST. THIS CAUSED HIM TO MISS THAT THE RUDDER TRIM WAS FULL LEFT. UPON TAKEOFF THE AIRCRAFT PULLED HARD TO THE LEFT AND THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO CONTROL THE AIRCRAFT AND COME BACK AROUND TO THE SAME RUNWAY FOR LANDING.