Piper PA-28-140 accident near Salisbury, North Carolina, March 8, 2014
On March 8, 2014 at about 5:00 pm local time, a 1971 Piper PA-28-140, registered N4335T, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Salisbury, North Carolina (Rowan County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's decision to continue the landing in close proximity to a landing helicopter, resulting in an encounter with rotor vortices, loss of airplane control, and collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 8, 2014 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Salisbury, North Carolina · Rowan County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140, built 1971 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N4335T · no longer on the register · serial 28-7225149
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the time of the accident, simultaneous operations were being conducted at the airport. Airplanes were in left traffic for landing on runway 20, and military helicopters were in right traffic landing to a midfield helipad on the west (right) side of the runway. According to the flight instructor (CFI) in the accident airplane, the student pilot completed three touch-and-go landings and proceeded around the pattern for a fourth landing. During the landing the airplane approached the runway as a helicopter "suddenly lifted to a hover." Several witness statements and security video revealed that the 2,150-pound airplane followed behind an airplane that landed on the runway, and passed abeam an 18,000-pound Army utility helicopter on final approach to the helipad, before it banked sharply to the right and impacted terrain. Post-accident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed partial separation of the right wing and substantial damage to the fuselage. The CFI reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. According to the FAA's Aeronautical Information Manual, section 7-3-7: In a slow hover taxi or stationary hover near the surface, helicopter main rotor(s) generate down wash producing high velocity outwash vortices to a distance approximately three times the diameter of the rotor. When rotor downwash hits the surface, the resulting outwash vortices have behavioral characteristics similar to wing tip vortices produced by fixed wing aircraft. However, the vortex circulation is outward, upward, around, and away from the main rotor(s) in all directions. Pilots of small aircraft should avoid operating within three rotor diameters of any helicopter in a slow hover taxi or stationary hover. In forward flight, departing or landing helicopters produce a pair of strong, high-speed trailing vortices similar to wing tip vortices of larger fixed wing aircraft. Pilots of small aircraft should use caution when operating behind or crossing behind landing and departing helicopters.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Aircraft wake turb encounter during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Loss of control in flight during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Wake turbulence › Decision related to condition
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Not specified
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,350 hours in all; 145 in this make and model; 167 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 1,264 as pilot in command; 860 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 11, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 28 hours in all; 28 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,395 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 13, 2013; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming 0-320 SERIES (piston); 7,395 hours total
- Operator: Julep Arbor Flying LLC
The flight
- Departed from: RUQ Salisbury NC at 4:30 pm
- Destination: RUQ Salisbury NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 5,501 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 3:30 pm from RUQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.