- Date
- May 23, 1991, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Big Rapids, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7209YPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910523019759A
- Case key
- 15072
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Excessive application of the flight controls by the student pilot. A factor related to the accident is delayed remedial action by the flight instructor.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The private rated pilot was on a dual multiengine instructional flight. On a practice soft-field takeoff the aircraft began to pull to the left when the aircraft was rotated. The student corrected with application of right rudder and aileron. The right wing of the aircraft struck the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7209Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-235
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Mecosta Cty Pilots Assn.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Airport
- 77D · Roben-Hood, runway 27, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,092 total · 142 in this make and model · 1,853 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GRR, 50 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.