Incident Summary
A flight instructor and a student pilot were engaged in a training flight that included a demonstration of a soft field takeoff procedure. During the takeoff roll, the airplane encountered a dip in the runway surface at a distance of approximately 100 feet from the starting point. The instructor reported that this dip caused the airplane to be "catapulted into the air in an extremely nose high attitude."
Control Inputs and Aircraft Response
The instructor believed that the student pilot was frozen on the controls after the aircraft failed to respond to his own control inputs. At that point, the instructor announced, "I've got the airplane," and assumed control. The student pilot recounted that the instructor then pulled the nose of the airplane upward, leading to a shaking motion. The instructor observed that they were "behind the power curve."
Final Sequence
The airplane subsequently veered off the left side of the runway and traveled through grass that measured 24 inches in height. It continued until it struck trees, where it came to rest. The flight instructor stated that he did not reduce the throttle setting during the takeoff and that no mechanical issues were present with the airplane.