Summary
On October 16, 2010, a Piper PA-12 (N4229M) was involved in an incident near Merrill Field Airport, AK. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The certificated flight instructor's failure to apply the correct remedial actions to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.
The student pilot reported that he lost directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during the takeoff roll. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and hit a taxiway berm that resulted in substantial damage to the empennage. The flight instructor reported that the airplane initially yawed to the left. He took over the controls and attempted to correct the yaw, but the airplane veered off the right side of the runway. The flight instructor had a total of 563 flight hours, but reported no flight time in the make and model of the accident airplane. The student pilot reported that he had a total of 9.8 hours of flight time with 4.5 hours in make and model.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ANC11CA003. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N4229M.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The certificated flight instructor's failure to apply the correct remedial actions to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The student pilot reported that he lost directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during the takeoff roll. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and hit a taxiway berm that resulted in substantial damage to the empennage. The flight instructor reported that the airplane initially yawed to the left. He took over the controls and attempted to correct the yaw, but the airplane veered off the right side of the runway. The flight instructor had a total of 563 flight hours, but reported no flight time in the make and model of the accident airplane. The student pilot reported that he had a total of 9.8 hours of flight time with 4.5 hours in make and model. The flight instructor stated that he should have closed the throttle as soon as directional control was lost, and that he should have “executed a positive exchange of flight controls.”
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC11CA003