Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Alexandria, Minn. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land at night when the airplane lost electrical power.
Pilot gets lost at night
November 11, 2013 by 10 Comments
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Eau Claire, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: During a personal sightseeing flight in the late afternoon, the pilot landed the airplane at a controlled airport without contacting the control tower.
Get-home-itis kills three
November 8, 2013 by 2 Comments
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Lake Havasu, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot was flying two friends home after a football game. He had flown the same route at night on four previous occasions, the most recent of which was two weeks before the accident. On both occasion the skies were clear and visibility unlimited.
The game went into overtime, so the flight home was later than planned and after dark. [Read more...]
Crosswind crimps experimental airplane
November 7, 2013 by 4 Comments
Aircraft: CX4. Injuries: None. Location: San Carlos, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot reported that, during takeoff from an asphalt runway, the tailwheel-equipped airplane experienced a gust of wind from the left.
Poor maintenance brings down Cessna
November 6, 2013 by 3 Comments
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Pompano Beach, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, the airplane was descending on final approach when the throttle control became stuck on idle.
Student forgets to raise flaps
November 5, 2013 by 3 Comments
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Sturgis, S.D. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The accident happened while the student pilot was practicing supervised solo takeoffs and landings. The flight instructor stated that after the second solo landing, the student did not retract the airplane’s flaps before beginning the next takeoff.
Showing off kills two
November 4, 2013 by 5 Comments
Aircraft: Beech Mentor. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Williston, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The pilot, a CFI, took off from a turf runway surrounded by trees. Witnesses said the airplane became airborne within a couple of hundred feet, ballooned up, then leveled off just above the runway and accelerated. When the airplane passed abeam the witnesses, the airplane’s smoke system was active and the airplane’s wings were rocking up and down.
New book examines Hollywood star’s mysterious plane crash
November 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Set for publication in January, Robert Matzen’s sixth book “Fireball: Carole Lombard & the Mystery of Flight 3,” will be released on the 72nd anniversary of the mysterious plane crash that killed Carole and 21 others.
Pilot grabs wrong knob
November 1, 2013 by 1 Comment
Aircraft: Bellanca Cruisemaster. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Borger, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross-country flight. Twenty miles from the destination airport when airplane was at an altitude of 9,500 feet MSL, he began the landing sequence. He intended to change fuel tanks when the plane reached 5,000 feet.
Pilot selects wrong fuel tank
October 31, 2013 by 9 Comments
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Wolfe City, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot departed his private airstrip and was en route to a local airport to purchase fuel when the engine lost power.
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