The pilot reported that while performing aerial observation along a pipeline in a Cessna 182, he spotted a buzzard about 200′ ahead of the airplane. He attempted to turn left to avoid the buzzard, but the bird changed its course and struck the right wing. The pilot landed without further incident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A […]
Running out of fuel fatal for 172 pilot
The private pilot and one passenger departed on the approximate 35-minute personal flight with an unknown quantity of fuel onboard the Cessna 172. Later that evening, they departed to return to their home airport in night visual meteorological conditions without adding additional fuel during their stop. While on final approach to their home airport in […]
Failure to cycle deice boots leads to stall
The airline transport pilot reported that the accident flight was the Cessna 441’s first flight after a phase maintenance check, and that he was repositioning the airplane to an airport about 40 nautical miles away. While en route, the plane experienced a series of avionics and fuel-related anomalies. He eventually declared an emergency and was […]
ILS approach in night IMC overwhelms Piper pilot
The commercial pilot and his wife departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight to their home airport. About 46 nautical miles from the destination airport, the pilot requested an instrument flight rules clearance and was subsequently cleared for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach at the destination airport. GPS data indicated that the Piper […]
Ice contributes to SR22’s fatal stall
The airline transport pilot was repositioning the Cirrus SR22 to its home base after maintenance was completed at a repair station. He filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with a cruise altitude of 9,000′ mean sea level (msl). The en route portion of the flight to the destination was uneventful. Before descending to […]
Flight to show off new plane ends fatally
The pilot had recently purchased the Piper PA 22-1 and planned to fly it to a friend’s private airport to show him the airplane. The private airport was located about 27 nautical miles east of the departure airport. A witness observed the pilot start the airplane’s engine, but he did not observe the airplane take off. […]
Bellanca crashes after running out of fuel
The private pilot did not visually check the fuel level in the tanks before the personal cross-country flight, but estimated that there was sufficient fuel on board for a one-hour flight. The flight was expected to take 30 minutes. About 15 to 20 minutes into the flight, the Bellanca 17-30A’s engine started to surge, and […]
Loss of engine power brings down LSA
The sport pilot of the Avid Mark IV, an experimental, amateur-built, light-sport airplane, performed a takeoff and initiated a steep, left crosswind turn to avoid horses off the end of the runway. About 300′ above the ground, he smelled “burning wires” and thought he saw a “wisp of smoke.” The engine “sputtered then died.” The […]
Landing on snow-covered runway goes awry
The pilot reported that during the approach to the airport in Seeley Lake, Montana, he was informed by a person on the ground, who was not associated with airport operations, that there was about 3 inches of compacted snow on the runway. Before attempting to land, he completed a low pass over the runway to […]