- Date
- November 13, 1990, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Pierce, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N25109Piper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 8, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901113050169A
- Case key
- 32792
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
Improper preflight decision of the instructor pilot to allow the student to takeoff from the soft grass runway and his failure to abort the takeoff.
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 CFI stated that he allowed the student to takeoff from the 2,500 ft grass rwy. Prior to departure there was a disagreement on the correct procedure & the plt's operating handbook was consulted. During the ground roll about 1/2 way down the rwy, he considered aborting the takeoff because the acft was slow to accelerate but did not. The acft remained in ground effect & about 3/4 down the rwy, had not accelerated enough to climb. With insufficient rwy remaining & obstructions ahead, the CFI took control & maneuvered the acft along a road while attempting to climb. The rt wing collided with trees & the acft then crashed into trees & came to rest. The CFI further stated that there was no eng failure or malfunction & when asked how this accident could have been prevented, he stated that he should not have flown into that airstrip. According to an FAA ops inspector who arrived 5 hours later, the grass was 4 inches high & the rwy was soft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N25109
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-80A0023
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- St. Lucie Air Academy, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Bodicea Air, Inc.
- Departed
- FL23
- Airport
- FL23 · Strazzula Groves, runway 27, 2,500 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 1,825 total · 2 in this make and model · 1,752 as pilot in command · 127 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FPR, 10 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.