Incident Overview
A training flight involving a certified flight instructor (CFI) and a student pilot resulted in a ground collision with a parked aircraft during a soft field takeoff. The incident occurred at an airport runway, where the airplane struck a Navion parked adjacent to the runway.
Sequence of Events
The instructor and student initiated a soft field takeoff procedure. According to the instructor, the airplane rotated at an airspeed between 40 and 45 knots. Shortly after becoming airborne, at an altitude of approximately 10 to 15 feet above ground level (AGL), the airplane experienced an uncommanded leftward deviation—described by the instructor as the airplane "breaking" to the left. The instructor attempted to regain control, but the drift continued: the airplane moved to the left, then to the right. Subsequently, the airplane's main landing gear contacted the wing of a Navion airplane. The Navion was parked approximately 75 feet off the right edge of the runway, about 2,800 feet from the runway threshold. No mechanical malfunctions were reported with the training airplane.
Post-Incident Observations
The investigation did not identify any pre-existing mechanical issues that could have contributed to the loss of directional control. The instructors' testimony provided the primary account of the events leading to the collision.