The pilot was providing airplane rides to family and friends who had assembled at a dry lakebed near El Mirage, Calif., in his American Aviation AA-1A. He completed two uneventful flights and then departed for a third flight from the lakebed. According to witnesses, he had planned to perform a low pass over the group, […]
Trip to backcountry ends in crash
The owner/pilot was participating in a fly-in to a backcountry airport in Big Creek, Idaho, that he had flown into once about two years before. He was the last of his group to arrive in the airport vicinity, and he reported that he was using his GPS, published guidance, and information from fellow pilots to navigate […]
Broken bolt bends Cessna
The Cessna 180H had recently undergone maintenance to realign the main landing gear. During the third landing, the plane turned sharply to the left upon touchdown. The pilot attempted a go-around, but the airplane continued to veer off the runway surface, exited the runway safety area, and hit the upslope of a drainage ditch at the […]
Loss of power leads to accident
The pilot reported that he performed several high-speed taxis on his private airstrip near Pennsboro, W.Va. After about 15 minutes, he initiated a takeoff on the 1,780-foot-long turf runway. About 100 feet above ground level, the CubCrafters CC18-180’s engine either lost all power or went to idle (the pilot could not be sure). He did state that […]
Runway overrun dents Cessna 175A
The pilot reported that during the approach to landing to a remote airstrip located within a canyon near Salmon, Idaho, the wind changed direction while he was on short final. He had selected full flaps and performed a slip to descend to the approach end of the runway, however, the Cessna 175A touched down more than halfway […]
Check-out flight ends fatally
According to a friend of the airplane’s owner, the purpose of the flight was for the owner to check out another pilot in the Liberty Aerospace XL-2. Review of uncorrelated radar data indicated that the flight departed and maneuvered in the local area for about 26 minutes before the accident occurred. One witness stated that […]
Fuel leak brings down Glasair TT
The commercial pilot, who was also the builder of the experimental Glasair TT, departed with full fuel for the planned 2.5-hour cross-country flight. The airplane was equipped with two independent means of determining fuel quantity: A capacitance-based fuel quantity indication system that provided a direct measurement of the fuel quantity; and a fuel totalizer that provided […]
Improper maintenance results in Cirrus pilot pulling the chute
The flight instructor reported that he and the pilot receiving instruction had completed a local instructional flight and were returning to the airport in Burlington, Mass. While the Cirrus SR22 was about 1,700 foot mean sea level, the engine began running roughly and subsequently lost all power. The pilot receiving instruction immediately handed over the flight controls […]
RV-6 canopy opens in flight with fatal consequences
About five minutes after the RV-6 departed from the airport in Sauk Rapids, Minn., an air traffic controller notified the pilot that an Airbus was 30 miles southwest of the airport and inbound. About seven minutes later, the pilot reported that he had the Airbus in sight and then stated that he was going to take a […]