During a local flight, the pilot and passenger, who held a student pilot certificate, were searching a lake for a submerged boat. The passenger stated that while maneuvering at a low altitude, the pilot banked the Kitfox IV about 45° to 60° at an airspeed of about 50 miles per hour. During the turn, the […]
Broken steering rod end bends 172
According to the pilot of the Cessna 172, he made a normal landing, but the plane began to veer left of the centerline during the landing roll. He corrected with right rudder and heard a “thump” as if something affixed to the airplane was being dragged, and the rudder steering became ineffective. He recalled that, […]
Ag pilot dies when plane hits wires
During an aerial application flight to apply fungicide to a wheat field, the pilot was flying the Rockwell S2R from west to east making a spray pass along the south edge of the field, which was bordered by powerlines. About 660′ from the west end of the field where the pilot started his spray pass, […]
Fuel starvation leads to crash
The pilot of the Beech F33A departed on a cross-country flight, but did not visually check the amount of fuel in the main tanks before departure, relying on his fuel gauges, which indicated the left tank was 2/3 full and the right tank was 1/2 full. Both wingtip fuel tanks were empty. The pilot departed […]
Pilot hits light pole while trying to park his 172
According to the pilot, during the taxi from the runway to parking at the airport in Shawnee, Oklahoma, he made a left turn into his parking space. He reported that he had parked at this location many times before, and that his main concern at the time was to ensure that he did not run […]
Broken shoulder harness increases severity of injuries in crash
The pilot and the passenger, a friend who was previously a student pilot but never completed his training, were making their first flight together. The pilot, who sustained serious injuries, did not recall the accident. The passenger reported that the pilot took off from the departure airport and then transferred the controls to him and […]
Fuel starvation leads to forced landing on roof
The pilot estimated that he departed on the 10-minute, 16-mile, local flight with one fuel tank about half full and the other tank about a quarter full. He did not recall which tank he had the fuel selector positioned to during takeoff. During descent for landing, he observed the engine rpm decrease to between 500 and […]
Fuel contamination leads to gear-up landing
The pilot was taking off in the Mooney M20 when the engine began to sputter and lose power. He elected to reduce engine power and land on the remaining runway at the airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, however he had already retracted the landing gear. He lowered the landing gear handle, but was not able […]
Vacuum pump failure fatal for three
The instrument-rated pilot was conducting a personal cross-county flight and was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan. While he was flying in visual conditions between cloud layers at 7,000′ and heading toward the destination airport, he reported to air traffic control that the Beech V35 had experienced a vacuum pump failure and that […]