Abnormal runway contact: Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee C, N7951W, accident occurred on May 5, 2025, at South St Paul Municipal Airport/Richard E Fleming Field (SGS/KSGS), South Saint Paul, Minnesota

• Location: South Saint Paul, Minnesota 
• Accident Number: CEN25LA171 
• Date & Time: May 5, 2025, 17:55 Local 
• Registration: N7951W 
• Aircraft: Piper PA28 
• Aircraft Damage: Substantial 
• Defining Event: Abnormal runway contact 
• Injuries: 2 None 
• Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200113/pdf

https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200113

During the instructional flight, the airplane was landing to the runway with the student pilot operating the flight controls. Upon touchdown, the airplane “swerved hard to the left.” The flight instructor immediately announced, “my controls” and he attempted to maintain directional control. He reported the loss of directional control happened “so fast” and that he was unable to recover the airplane. After the accident, the student pilot reported that he “may have had his feet on the brakes” upon touchdown.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount, with a bend in a truss tube. The flight instructor reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor further reported that in the future, he will be having new student pilots announce, “heels on the floor” during the landing flare, to prevent inadvertent brake application.

- Probable Cause: The student pilot’s inadvertent brake application during the touchdown, that resulted in abnormal runway contact and a loss of directional control. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the student pilot during the landing.