Incident Overview
During soft-field takeoff practice in a single-control throw-over yoke aircraft, a student pilot pulled the aircraft off the runway before it had attained sufficient speed to remain airborne. Immediately after becoming airborne, the aircraft banked sharply to the left, dropped onto the runway, and bounced back into the air.
Instructor Actions
According to the instructor pilot, when he observed that the aircraft was about to lift off prematurely, he commanded the student to lower the nose. However, the student did not lower the nose sufficiently. Additionally, the instructor did not apply forward pressure to the central control pedestal to prevent the aircraft from lifting off too early.
Aircraft Damage
During the event, the left wing impacted the asphalt surface when the aircraft dropped back onto the runway.