Incident Details

Edit
Minor
Takeoff

Aborted launch leads to line ingestion

Pre-solo student practicing inflations and taxiing with instructor on radio. Wing started to collapse during forward run. Instructor commanded 'kill power, kill power' but student misheard as 'power, power' and went to full power. Wing lines were ingested by prop, student's arm was pulled into frame which bent as a result.

Incident Details

Maximum — exactly determined

Pre-solo learner with instructor on radio practicing inflations and taxiing. The wing started to collapse as the learner was running forward. The instructor commanded 'kill power, kill power' but the student heard 'power, power' so went to full power. The wing lines were ingested by the prop, and the learner's arm was pulled into the frame, which bent as a result.

Communication misunderstanding between instructor and student. Student misheard 'kill power' command as 'power' command, leading to incorrect pilot input of full throttle when wing was collapsing. Lack of distinct commands for 'kill' and 'power' contributed to confusion.

Not deployed

Wrong input triggered incident

Minor injury - pilot's arm was pulled into frame

Date & Location

August 11, 2024

18:00:00

United States

Pennsylvania

Equipment

Footlaunch

Pilot & Flight

Pre-solo learner, Student in Training rating

Contributing Factors

Low flight altitude

Weather Conditions

1.3 m/s

Light Wind (1-5 mph)

Evening flight window

Links & Media

Pre-solo learner with instructor on radio practicing inflations and taxiing. The wing started to collapse as the learner was running forward. The instructor commanded "kill power, kill power" but the student heard "power, power" so went to full power. The wing lines were ingested by the prop, and the learner's arm was pulled into the frame, which bent as a result. Recommend having distinct commands for "kill" and "power"

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