Aircraft: Pitts S1D. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Port Richey, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: Several witnesses reported that the pilot was conducting aerobatic maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico. He initiated a loop between 300 to 500 feet above the water.
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 4 Fatal. Location: St. George, Utah. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: Prior to the flight, the pilot and passengers were at a party, during which time the pilot and all but one passenger (the designated driver) consumed multiple alcoholic beverages.
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Gainesville, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The CFI was providing instruction to a student who had about 10 hours of flight experience. During the first takeoff roll, the student attempted to steer the airplane with the control yoke instead of the rudder pedals.
Aircraft: North American T-6. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Perry, Mich. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The pilot stated that after takeoff, he was planning to overfly the runway for a “photo pass.”
Aircraft: Cirrus SR20. Injuries: 4 Fatal. Location: Duck Creek Village, Utah. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The pilot had extensive rotorcraft/helicopter flight experience but had accumulated only about 160 hours total flight time in fixed wing airplanes, including about 17 hours in the Cirrus. The pilot’s most recent flight in a Cirrus took place about 18 months before the accident.
The accident happened in mountainous terrain on the second leg of a cross-country flight in daytime VFR conditions. [Read more...]
Aircraft: Silvaire Luscombe 8F. Injuries: None. Location: Tok, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land. He told investigators that the airplane had recently been modified with hydraulic brakes, [Read more...]
Aircraft: Hawker Beechcraft A36. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Macon, Miss. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.
What reportedly happened: The pilot had obtained his instrument rating less than two years before the accident and had accrued about 32 total hours of actual instrument experience. While on a long cross-country flight on an IFR flight plan, he attempted to fly through a line of thunderstorms.
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Wichita, Kan. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The student pilot, accompanied by a CFI, was practicing takeoffs and landings. When the airplane touched down on the second landing, it veered sharply to the right.
Aircraft: Boeing A75N1. Injuries: None. Location: Foley, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was attempting to land, felt the airplane was high on final approach, so he established a forward slip to lose some altitude.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board said May 7 that the National Weather Service and the FAA should provide improved forecast services to pilots.
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