- Date
- April 22, 2023, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4402APiper PA-28-181
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20230422007699A
- Case key
- 107121
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
The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that, during an instructional flight with the student pilot at the flight controls, they realized the airplane was high while they were on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern. After turning onto final approach, the student pilot conducted a forward slip to decrease altitude and intercept the glideslope. When over the runway, the student pilot had applied too much left rudder, and on touchdown the airplane immediately veered left. The student pilot then overcorrected to the right. The flight instructor stated, he then took control of the airplane and attempted to correct back to the left, however he was unable to regain directional control. The airplane departed the runway surface impacting a runway sign, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4402A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2881241
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 5,048
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Cae Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc, doing business as Flight School
- Registered owner
- Cae Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · April 16, 2023
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FFZ · Falcon Field, runway 22R, 3,799 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 441 total · 421 in this make and model · 341 as pilot in command · 114 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 12 total · 12 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 8 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.76 inHg
- Observed at
- KFFZ
- METAR
- KFFZ 221954Z 25007G14KT 10SM CLR 31/M02 A2981 RMK AO2 SLP074 T03111022
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 7, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.