# NTSB WPR26LA092: Piper PA-28-181, N505AF, Scottsdale, AZ, January 21, 2026

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: January 21, 2026, 08:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place: Scottsdale, AZ · American Flyers Ramp - Scottsdale Airport
- Coordinates: 33.620107, -111.91849
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6201&lon=-111.9185&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Standing-engine(s) start-up: Ground collision](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report May 14, 2026
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA Scottsdale FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 202355
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR26LA092
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202355/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202355
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA092

## Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to properly adjust their seat and failure to set the parking brake before engine start, which resulted in a collision with parked vehicles.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Action: forgotten action/omission](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 440 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: use of checklist](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 336 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Prior to flight: Preflight or dispatch event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030/sequence.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 355 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/030/sequence.md)
- [Standing-engine(s) start-up: Ground collision](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-181, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200/sequence.md?model=7102807), [All aircraft, 618 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/200/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The student pilot was preparing for an instructional flight and, at the instructor's request, completed a preflight inspection of the airplane on the ramp while the instructor was inside completing dispatch paperwork. The student then entered the cockpit, where she prepared fro a cold start as it was the airplane’s first flight of the day. Prior to the engine start, she performed the engine start checklist; however, she did not set the parking brake, as she assumed it had been engaged when the airplane was parked the previous evening. Upon engine start, the airplane rolled forward. The student pilot attempted to stop the airplane but was unable to apply brake pressure because the seat was not properly adjusted, and she could not fully reach the brake pedals. Subsequently, the airplane collided with two unoccupied parked vehicles which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane by maintenance personnel revealed that the parking brake was not fully set. According to the flight school's chief instructor, the company's standard procedure is to keep the parking brake disengaged while the airplane is parked overnight. The flight school reported that it used the airplane manufacturer’s Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) checklist for preflight and engine-starting procedures. The POH “Before Starting Engine” checklist specifies adjusting the seat position as step three and setting the parking brake as step six. The chief instructor also stated that it had always been assumed that students would wait for their flight instructors before starting the airplane’s engine.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N505AF](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N505AF), registered now, S/N 28020005, built 2020 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-28-181
- Registry model: [Piper PA-28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (registry code 7102832) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-B4A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-b4a) (registry code 41867, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 28020005
- Year built: 2021
- Airframe hours: 7027.7
- Engines: Lycoming IO-360-B4A 180 hp reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Instructional, Part 91
- Operator: American Flyers, doing business as American Flyers
- Registered owner: American Flyers
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: 100 hour, January 13, 2026, 46 hours before
- Departed: SDL, Scottsdale, AZ
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: SDL, Scottsdale Airport
- Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; student; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 41 total, 41 in this make and model, 41 in the last 90 days, 16.5 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 7 °F, dew point -1 °F
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observed at: SDL, 0.1 nm away
- METAR: KSDL 211453Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 07/M01 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP197 T00721011 51012


## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20260121005229A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260121005229A), Jan 21, 2026: Piper Aircraft Inc PA-28-181, Scottsdale, AZ, Substantial damage. The student pilot typically conducted training flights in the afternoon and was unfamiliar with local procedures regarding the parking brake system. Flight…

## Docket (8 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 14, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=202355. 17.7 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 - pilot (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 3.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20230853&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%206120.1%20Pilot_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 flight school (item 2, PDF, 10 pages, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19945132&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%206120.1%20Flight%20School_Redected-Rel.pdf
- Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, pilot (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 122 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19973584&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%20Record%20of%20conversation%20-%20Pilot_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, flight school (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 121 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19973594&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%20Record%20of%20conversation%20-%20Flight%20School_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photos (item 5, PDF, 6 pages, 5 photos, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19929877&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf
- Video file #1 (item 6, MP4, 6.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19929981&FileExtension=mp4&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%20Video%201-Rel.mp4
- Video file #2 (item 7, ASF, 2.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19945980&FileExtension=asf&FileName=WPR26LA092%20-%20Video%202-Rel.asf
- Poh- normal procedures/before starting engine- excerpt (item 8, PDF, 1 page, 100 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=20216826&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Piper-28-181%20POH%20Excerpt%20Section%204%20-Rel.pdf

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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