SEA99LA084

After landing to the east during a simulated engine-out landing on the turf airstrip, the student was instructed to make a takeoff to the west using soft field techniques. Because the student had never performed an actual or simulated soft field takeoff before, the instructor explained the procedures to her while the aircraft idled at the east end of the runway. The student then initiated the takeoff to the west. During the takeoff roll, the airspeed stabilized around 45 MPH, and the instructor advised the student that as soon as the aircraft lifted off it would accelerate. After liftoff, the student climbed out at a rate that caused the airspeed to remain at 45 MPH, and after passing tree-top level about half way down the 2,640 foot airstrip, the aircraft stopped climbing. At that point the instructor took over and lowered the nose in an attempt to gain airspeed. In order to get the aircraft to accelerate, the instructor had to allow it to drop back toward the runway surface. As it neared the surface, the instructor became unsure whether the aircraft would clear the trees at the west end of the airstrip. He therefore aborted the takeoff and attempted to land on the remaining runway. During that attempt, the aircraft dropped in from about 20 feet above the surface, and after the nose gear bent back, the nose dug into the soft terrain and the aircraft flipped over on its back.

On June 14, 1999, approximately 1300 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N62800, nosed over during an aborted takeoff at Easton State Airport, Easton, Washington. The certified flight instructor, his student pilot, and the passenger received minor injuries, and the aircraft, which was operated by Wings Aloft, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 cross-country instructional flight landed at Easton State while en route from Bowers Field, Ellensburg, Washington, to Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington. The flight was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident.

According to the instructor, as the flight passed near the Easton State Airport, he reduced the engine power and asked the student to execute a simulated engine-out landing. After landing on runway 09 at Easton State, the student was told to take off on runway 27 using soft field procedures. Prior to initiating the takeoff on the rough/soft runway, the student informed the instructor that she had never performed a simulated or actual soft field takeoff before. After learning of the student's lack of experience with soft field takeoffs, the instructor elected not to demonstrate the maneuver, but instead to explain the procedure to the student while the aircraft was idling at the east end of the airstrip. After listening to a review of the procedures, the student initiated the takeoff toward the west. During the takeoff roll, the student noticed that the indicated airspeed had stabilized around 40 MPH and did not seem to be increasing. She mentioned this to the instructor, who advised her that the aircraft would accelerate once it became airborne. The student then increased the aircraft's pitch attitude to a point where it lifted off and began to climb. According to both the student and the instructor, the aircraft's airspeed remained around 45 MPH as it climbed above tree level about half way down the 2,640 foot turf airstrip. Because the airspeed remained at 45 MPH, and because the aircraft reached a point where it was no longer climbing, the instructor took over and lowered the nose in order to gain airspeed. In order for the aircraft to accelerate, the instructor had to lower the nose to a point where the aircraft began sinking toward the runway surface. As the aircraft neared the west end of the runway, the instructor became unsure that it would clear the trees just off the end, so he elected to abort the takeoff and attempt a landing on the remaining runway surface. According to the instructor, during the landing flare, the aircraft dropped in from about 20 feet above the runway. During the hard landing, the aircraft's nose gear was bent back, and the airplane slid along the ground until it dug into the soft terrain and flipped over.

According to the records of the local waste water treatment plant, the temperature at the time of the accident was between 80 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Based on a temperature of 80 degrees and the 30.14 inches of Mercury pressure measurement taken at Stampede Pass, approximately 10 miles west of the accident site, the density altitude was calculated as 3,895 feet.