PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Flight Crew Student
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 19; Flight Crew Total 28; Flight Crew Type 28
Other / Unknown; Human-Machine Interface
Ground Excursion Runway; Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged
Aircraft; Human Factors
I was returning to my home airport with the intent to practice touch and goes. I contacted ATC at 10 NM northwest and stated intentions. I was directed to report right midfield; downwind for Runway 27 and did so once I was to that location. I was cleared by ATC for a touch and go on Runway 27. My turns to base and final were normal as well as my approach. I touched down on the runway without incident then began to advance the throttle to take back off. Once airspeed had reach 65 mph (rotate speed for PA-28) I began to apply back pressure to elevator. I began to feel the aircraft get light on the landing gear. Suddenly and sharply the aircraft turned 90 degrees to the left and exited the runway to the grassy area between Runway 27 and Taxiway Bravo. Once in the grass the aircraft began to slide right wing first. I; then; moved the throttle to idle and the mixture to full lean. The aircraft continued to slide until reaching the shoulder of Taxiway Bravo. The angle of the shoulder caused the right main gear and nose wheel to pop up into the air. The aircraft then came to rest on all 3 wheels on Taxiway Bravo. I communicated with ATC that I was ok and that there was no need for emergency vehicles. I also advised that I would be exiting the aircraft to check for damage. Prior to exiting the aircraft I shut down all functions of the aircraft. I exited the aircraft and; at that time; noted no damage or fluid leaks. I reentered the aircraft and communicated with ATC that the aircraft was safe to taxi. ATC granted permission to taxi back to home hangar. I restarted the engine without difficulty and taxied back to my hangar. Upon thorough inspection; once back to my hangar; I noted that the nose wheel was slightly bent and one prop tip was bent backwards. Contact was made with aircraft owner and CFI.
I received a text message from my student pilot that he had been involved in an incident in a PA28 aircraft in which I had both trained him and endorsed him to solo. He reported the incident had occurred approximately 1 hour prior. Upon receiving the text message I immediately called and we talked by phone. I discovered the student was uninjured and the airplane had been taxied back to the hangar and secured. We arranged to immediately meet at the airport and I arrived approximately 2 1/2 hours after the accident. On my way to the airport the student pilot and I talked by telephone and he described the accident to me. He described taking off from a touch and go where the landing had been uneventful. He described the aircraft veering and behaving in a manner he had not before experienced followed by a feeling that 'someone had grabbed the left wing causing the airplane to make a 90 degree left turn.' He reported that the airplane immediately veered off the left side of Runway 27; through a grassy area with a drainage swale coming to rest on Taxiway Bravo. At this time the Tower Controller asked the student pilot to call the Tower by phone; furnishing the phone number. The student reported that while taxiing he noted a vibration; previously unnoticed; and the aircraft taxiing in an atypical manner. The student then pushed the airplane into the hangar. After a short period of time had passed (15 minutes?); and upon closer inspection; the student noticed one prop tip bent and the nose landing gear askew. I arrived and we discussed the incident in significant detail. I was; and remain; unable to determine a precise cause for the incident. However; we did review NTSB 830 and reviewed accident and incident reporting requirements. Further; the student and I discussed go-arounds; aborted takeoffs; and reviewed the aircraft's POH in regard to takeoff and landings and the manufacturer's suggested airspeeds; configurations and techniques. In my meeting with the student I noted he was alert and aware and fully engaged in regard to thought processes; memory and deduction. I noted no signs of fatigue or any other abnormal behavior.
Solo student pilot experienced a runway excursion during a touch and go causing some damage to the aircraft.