# Incident 20260525005879I: Piper PA-28-181, Grand Forks, ND, May 25, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 25, 2026, 10:27 local time
- Place: Grand Forks, ND
- Airport: Grand Forks Int'L
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: OG5S
- Location: 47.9479° N, 97.1757° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at GRAND FORKS INTL (GFK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.9479&lon=-97.1757&mi=10
- Aircraft: N730ND, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N730ND) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, 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 PA-28-181
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360-B4A
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 950 total, 73 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260525005879I

## Narrative

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

DURING INITIAL TAKEOFF ON RWY 27L, THE STUDENT PERFORMED A SOFT-FIELD TAKEOFF WITH THE CFI IN THE RIGHT SEAT AND AN OBSERVER IN THE REAR SEATS. WINDS AT TAKEOFF WERE 220/13. UPON LIFT-OFF, THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED GREATER THAN 10 DEGREES AND THEN VEERED TO THE LEFT. THE CFI ADDED RIGHT RUDDER TO COUNTERACT THE WEATHERVANE CONDITION (WITHOUT INFORMING THE PILOT FLYING) AND THE PILOT FLYING SIMULTANEOUSLY ADDED RIGHT AILERON. UPON ASSUMING CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT, THE CFI ALLOWED THE NOSE TO PITCH TO APPROXIMATELY 20 DEGREES. DURING THE ENTIRE EVENT, THE LEFT WINGTIP, RIGHT WINGTIP, RIGHT SIDE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, AND TAIL TIE-DOWN STRUCK THE GROUND AND WERE DAMAGED. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE TO THE OUTER EDGE OF THE LEFT AILERON.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.