What happened
On October 14, 2022, a Piper PA-28-140, registration SE-GAZ, was conducting solo training maneuvers at Idre Airport in Dalarna, Sweden. The pilot, who was in the final stages of training for a private pilot license, was performing a series of landings followed by immediate takeoffs on runway 15.
During one of these takeoff attempts, as the nose wheel lifted from the runway, the aircraft experienced a sudden and violent yaw to the left. This maneuver caused the aircraft to skid off the paved surface of the runway and penetrate the adjacent forest. The impact with trees resulted in significant structural damage, specifically a severed nose wheel and a broken right wing. The pilot escaped the incident without injury.
The investigation
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) examined the aircraft, the accident site, and video footage of previous landings from the same day. Investigators also analyzed the fracture surfaces of the nose gear structure and interviewed the pilot and airport officials.
Technical inspections of the Piper PA-28-140 revealed no mechanical failures or deficiencies that could have contributed to the excursion. The investigation also focused on the pilot's recent activities, noting that the pilot had operated a crawler excavator earlier that same day. Furthermore, the investigation looked into the instructor's role, as the flight was being conducted without the instructor physically present on the airfield, though the pilot had been briefed digitally.
Findings
While a definitive cause cannot be established with certainty, the investigation identified a likely mechanism for the loss of control. The aircraft's tracks on the runway and the impact with trees indicated that the plane skidded on its nose and right wheels, tilting heavily to the right during the final moments of the excursion.
Investigators proposed that the pilot may have experienced negative transfer of control habits. Because the control pedals in a crawler excavator operate in the opposite direction to those in an aircraft, the pilot may have instinctively applied the wrong rudder pedal when reacting to the natural leftward yaw tendency caused by propeller effect. The pilot's limited flight experience and the lack of an instructor on-site to provide real-time correction during earlier, slightly deviating landings may have contributed to the outcome.