# Incident 20250708010049I: Piper Aircraft Inc PA-28-181, Smithfield, NC, July 8, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2025, 10:30 local time
- Place: Smithfield, NC
- Airport: Johnston Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Departure Roll
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: 8BLS
- Location: 35.5409° N, 78.3903° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at JOHNSTON RGNL (JNX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.5409&lon=-78.3903&mi=10
- Aircraft: N528BL, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N528BL) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102832, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360-B4A (registry code 41867, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-b4a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-28-181
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360-B4A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250708010049I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

IT WAS A ROUTINE STUDENT TRAINING FLIGHT. DURING THE PRE-FLIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT, NO ABNORMALITIES WERE

FOUND. AFTER ENGINE STARTUP, NOTHING WAS OUT OF THE ORDINARY. ENGINE START WAS FINE, TAXI TO RUN UP AND RUN UP HAD NO ISSUES OR ABNORMALITIES NOTED. DURING THE STATIC TAKE-OFF, THE STUDENT ABRUPTLY PUT IN POWER, LEADING TO A "KNOCK" SOUND COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE AIRPLANE. AT THE TIME, THE INSTRUCTOR BELIEVED THAT IT WAS AN ENGINE BACKFIRE DUE TO THE STUDENT ABRUPTLY ADDING MORE POWER. NO ENGINE INDICATIONS WERE OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL, SO THE TAKEOFF ROLL WAS CONTINUED. WHILE AIRBORNE, NO ABNORMALITIES WERE NOTED, AND THE FLIGHT WAS FINE. COMING BACK INTO THE AIRPORT, THE STUDENT MADE A SAFE LANDING WITH NO ABNORMALITIES BEING NOTED. PARKING THE AIRPLANE WAS MADE SAFELY WITH NOTHING BEING HIT OR ANY ABNORMALITIES. DURING THE POST-FLIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE, THE PROP BLADE DAMAGE WAS MISSED, WHICH APPEARED TO BE FROM A GUNSHOT, WITH THE BULLET HITTING THE PROPELLER FROM THE BACK SIDE AND MUSHROOMING THE PROPELLER OUT THE FRONT. IT WASN'T UNTIL THE PRE-FLIGHT OF THE NEXT FLIGHT THAT THE INSTRUCTOR FOUND THE PROP DAMAGE.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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