On February 17, 2020, about 1535 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172M, N5185R, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The flight instructor and three passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

According to information provided by the operator and witness statements, the purpose of the flight was to orient local community college students with general aviation. The pilot, who was also a flight instructor, was seated in the right cockpit seat. The passengers occupied the other three seats. During the takeoff, the passenger in the left seat was on the flight controls with the instructor. Witnesses watching the takeoff (some of whom were flight instructors), described that as soon as the main wheels left the runway, the airplane pitched up aggressively. The airplane pitched up to a higher-than-normal pitch attitude, stalled, then collided with terrain adjacent to the runway. They also reported that the engine continued to run normally during the accident sequence.

The evening of the accident, one of the flight instructors employed by the operator visited the hospital and spoke to the passengers. She reported that one of the rear seat passengers described to her that during the takeoff the flight instructor called out for the passenger to let go; however, the passenger did not relinquish the controls. She further described that she started screaming as the airplane descended toward the ground.

In a deposition taken after the accident, the front seat passenger stated that before the takeoff, the flight instructor provided him with instructions on when to initiate the takeoff. He recalled that between a speed of 70 to 80 mph, the flight instructor would tell him to either “push in or pull out” the airplane’s control yoke. The passenger could not recall which direction he moved the yoke during the takeoff but stated that when the airplane reached about 75 mph the instructor told him to rotate the airplane slowly. After lifting off, the airplane “tilted too far back” and the passenger was only able to see the sky out of the airplane’s windscreen. He stated that the airplane, “started going straight up” and “…I was kind of, you know, freaking out…” As the airplane lifted off, his hands were still on the yoke. As the airplane pitched up, he took his hands off the yoke. He estimated that he kept his hands on the yoke after liftoff for a “couple of seconds.” He also stated that no one told him to take his hands off the yoke before he took his hands off the yoke. The flight instructor called out that he was trying to regain control and not to touch anything. The airplane began descending as “alerts” were going off in the cockpit, and the airplane subsequently impacted the ground.

Inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. The fuselage and both wings were structurally damaged. The propeller separated from the engine. They reported that their examination of the airplane did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction or anomaly. They also calculated the airplane’s estimated weight and balance at the time of the accident, finding that the airplane was below its maximum gross weight and within center of gravity limits. The operator also reported that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane prior to the accident.

The flight instructor, due to the severity of his injuries, did not recall the event.