Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Fairbanks, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot intended to depart for a solo flight to the local practice area. During the takeoff roll, he held forward pressure on the yoke to keep the nosewheel on the ground. At 50 mph, he let the nosewheel come off the […]
Delayed go-around leads to crash
Aircraft: Mooney M20F. Injuries: 3 Serious. Location: McKinnon, Tenn. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on runway 8, which measured 3,000 feet. He noted that the 3,000-foot runway was the shortest one he had ever attempted to land on. During the approach he noted the winds were shifting from east to west. […]
Strong winds contribute to broken nose gear
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Marienthal, Kan. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on a runway with a line of trees along side of it. According to the pilot, the trees contributed to mechanical turbulence. The airplane encountered turbulence or a downdraft, which resulted in the airplane landing hard on its […]
Hand-propping goes awry
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Johnson Valley, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: An acquaintance of the pilot expressed an interest in learning to fly his newly purchased airplane. The pilot agreed to provide a demonstration flight. The acquaintance had no prior flight experience. On the morning of the planned flight, the pilot discovered that […]
Fuel starvation brings down Mooney
Aircraft: Mooney M20B. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Rosamond, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: As the pilot prepared for takeoff, he noted that the left fuel tank was about 1/4 full and the right fuel tank was empty. He had the left fuel tank selected during start up and taxi. As he did his pre-takeoff engine run-up […]
Side-load over-stresses landing gear
Aircraft: Piper Pacer. Injuries: None. Location: Cross Keys, N.J. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: An airport surveillance camera captured the airplane as it landed, then fish-tailed before going off the left side of the runway. There were tire marks on the runway near the airplane’s touchdown point, and farther down the runway, there was a single rubber […]
Runway closure surprises pilot
Aircraft: Piper Seneca. Injuries: None. Location: San Marcos, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot called the Flight Service Station before departing on a cross-country flight to ask if there were any restrictions along his flight route that he needed to be aware of. None were mentioned. He arrived at his destination about dusk when the […]
Ground loop for Piper Pacer
Aircraft: Piper Pacer. Injuries: None. Location: Fairbanks, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on a hard surfaced runway. When the airplane was about 6 inches above the runway, a gust of wind lifted the right wing, the left main landing gear touched down hard, and the airplane veered to the left. […]
Inexperience, sensitive brakes bad combo
Aircraft: Fairchild 24 C8C. Injuries: None. Location: Redmond, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot received his tailwheel endorsement in another airplane make. His total flight time in the Fairchild was about one hour. The pilot told investigators that he had difficulty controlling the airplane with the rudder and the brakes. He stated that, at times, the […]