According to the operator/owner, the non-instrument-rated pilot was visiting the United States on vacation and had rented the Piper PA-28-161 for a week. The pilot planned a day trip to an airport located about 2.5 hours from the airplane’s home base, and the accident occurred on the return leg near Stuart, Fla. After departing on […]
Taylorcraft crashes into snowbank
The pilot reported that he was departing to the north from a snow-covered grass runway in Hartford, Wis., in a ski-equipped tailwheel Taylorcraft BC12-D. A plowed asphalt runway intersected the snow-covered runway, and snowbanks were located on the north and south side of the plowed runway. During takeoff, the plane hit the snowbank on the […]
Icing brings down SR22
About 90 minutes before the flight, the pilot received a preflight weather briefing, which included an advisory for moderate icing between the freezing level (expected to be at or below 10,000 feet mean sea level and 22,000 feet msl.) The pilot reported that the Cirrus SR22 encountered instrument meteorological conditions with light icing accumulation about […]
Decision to try aerobatics fatal
A witness reported that the pilot made a radio transmission announcing his intention to perform a rolling maneuver in the RANS S10. He and another witness stated that they then saw the airplane roll through an inverted position and then transition into a steep, high-speed dive. The left wing separated from the fuselage and the […]
Stripped spark plug hole starts fatal chain of events
The Sonex had just departed the airport in Wellington, Fla. One witness reported that during the initial climb the engine “sputtered,” and another reported that it “backfired.” The pilot made a steep turn back toward the airport, but the airplane stalled and spiraled to the ground. The pilot died in the crash. The plane was […]
Deer dents Piper
The CFI and student pilot had completed the first leg of a night cross country flight and were departing back to their home airport. During the takeoff roll at the airport in Saluda, S.C., a deer ran onto the runway, colliding with the Piper PA-28-140’s right wing. The CFI assumed control of the airplane from […]
Inadequate preflight plus diverted attention equals bad combination
Prior to the flight, the pilot removed an insulating blanket and heat source from the Piper PA-16 and conducted his preflight inspection. Following a normal engine run up, he initiated takeoff from the airport, where he thought the airplane seemed sluggish and that the rate of climb didn’t feel normal. He determined that the engine […]
Fuel starvation leads to forced landing
The pilot stated that, before the flight, he conducted a preflight inspection but that he did not verify the fuel level in each fuel tank of the Beech A45. During the initial climb, the engine lost power, and he then performed a 180° turn toward a field adjacent to the runway in Hollister, Calif. About […]
Pilot’s overreaction proves fatal
The Beech 95-B55 was inbound to the airport in LaGrange, Ga., conducting an instrument approach in visual meteorological conditions, when the pilot announced its position over the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Witnesses described the airplane’s approach as fast and stated that it never touched down. The engines then rapidly accelerated to full power […]