| Crash location | 40.510278°N, 101.620000°W |
| Nearest city | Imperial, NE
40.516940°N, 101.643225°W 1.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N3428R |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 15 Oct 2005 |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-28-180 |
| Additional details: | None |
On October 15, 2005, about 1655 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N3428R, piloted by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage when the airplane impacted terrain following a loss of airplane control during takeoff from runway 21 (3,058 feet by 300 feet, turf) at the Imperial Municipal Airport (IML), near Imperial, Nebraska. The solo instructional flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was on file. The pilot sustained no injuries. The local flight originated from IML at 1630.
The student pilot's accident report stated:
Was practicing soft field take off [and] was set up, per [pilot
operating handbook], to take off. A few feet into take off, shortly
into take off a gust of wind/cross wind hit from the north, lifting the
right wing off the ground causing the plane to bicycle to the left.
(south) When I realized the airplane was out of control I turned off
the fuel pump, turned off fuel to idle [and] set the mixture to lean,
then reached up to have exit door ready for exit. The airplane came
to a sudden stop in soft dirt which broke the front nose gear [and]
bent the prop [and] the left wing struck a fence post which paralleled
the runway.
The pilot not maintaining airplane control during the takeoff.