The owner of the recently-purchased, 65-hp Kitfox II was undergoing tailwheel endorsement training. He and the flight instructor had previously flown the plane about nine hours, for about two hours each time, with no problems noted. They had begun the flight about an hour earlier; the wind was from the west, and they were landing […]
Hand-propping goes awry
According to the pilot, when he attempted to start the Cessna 172B at the airport in Mt. Olive, N.C., “the battery was low.” He exited the airplane, instructed the passenger to remain in the plane and how to turn the magnetos on and off, and he utilized the tail tie-down hook and secured the tail […]
Loss of control fatal for five
About three months before the accident, the pilot received about nine hours of flight instruction, including completion of an instrument proficiency check, in the Socata TBM 700. The accident flight was a cross-country flight operated under instrument flight rules (IFR). Radar track data depicted the flight proceeding on a west-southwest course at 15,800 feet mean […]
Fuel exhaustion brings down Piper
During the night cross-country flight, the Piper PA-28-181 had been flying for four hours, 21 minutes and was about six miles from the destination airport when the pilot reported a fuel emergency to air traffic control. He stated that he was going to attempt to land on a highway, however, the plane hit 160-foot power […]
Continued flight into IMC proves fatal
On the morning of the accident, the de Havilland DHC-1 pilot contacted a flight service station for a weather briefing for a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Wisconsin to Georgia. The briefer told the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended from southern Kentucky through Tennessee and into north Georgia. He also stated that […]
Gusty winds contribute to crash
According to the sport pilot, while turning from the left base to the final leg of the approach for Runway 2 in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., with engine power reduced to “near” idle, a gust of wind came from the right and the Allegro 2000 lost altitude. He attempted to recover the altitude loss by […]
Banner tow plane ends up in bay due to fuel starvation
The pilot departed on a two-hour banner tow flight in the Cessna O1-A with 58 gallons of fuel. After one hour, he returned to the airport to pick up a different banner for the second hour of the flight. The first pick-up attempt was unsuccessful. He then briefly circled the pick-up location and then completed […]
Poor planning, coupled with bad battery, leads to crash
According to the pilot, he purchased the Cessna 172 and planned to fly it across the country “via the southern route.” The aircraft seller informed the pilot that the battery held a limited charge, but asserted that the plane could be flown if the pilot charged the battery and disengaged the master after takeoff. Prior […]
Inflight break-up fatal for two
The pilots of the twin-engine Piper PA-44-180 were conducting a cross-country instrument flight rules (IFR) flight. Although both pilots were instrument-rated and IFR-current, the right seat pilot had only 8.8 hours of actual instrument experience, and the left seat pilot had only 1.8 hours of actual instrument experience. While en route and likely operating in […]