Aircraft: Bellanca Cruisemaster. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Borger, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross-country flight. Twenty miles from the destination airport when airplane was at an altitude of 9,500 feet MSL, he began the landing sequence. He intended to change fuel tanks when the plane reached 5,000 feet. During the procedure the […]
Pilot selects wrong fuel tank
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Wolfe City, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot departed his private airstrip and was en route to a local airport to purchase fuel when the engine lost power. While trying to restart the engine, he moved the fuel selector from the left wing tank to the right wing tank and […]
Cessna pilot experiences loss of control on takeoff
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Norfolk, Va. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, as he started to taxi onto the runway he noticed that the airplane was difficult to turn. He thought that the tailwheel had not locked into position, so he lined up on the center line of the runway and pulled forward […]
Delayed decision results in accident
Aircraft: Loehle P-40. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Tullahoma, Tenn. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: Shortly after takeoff the airplane rolled into an uncommanded 10° bank to the left. The pilot initially assumed that the bank had been induced by a crosswind, but the bank angle continued to increase as the airplane’s speed increased. The pilot then leveled the […]
Pilot forgets fuel valve
Aircraft: Rans S-7 Courier. Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Minor. Location: Riley, Kans. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, he turned off the airplane’s fuel shutoff valve and tied the airplane down, thinking that he was done flying for the day, when he noticed a family with a 10-year-old boy at the airport and offered to […]
Poor preflight leads to crash
Aircraft: Cirrus SR22T. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 2 Serious. Location: Carrollton, Texas. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 550-hour instrument-rated pilot reported 209 flight hours in a Cirrus SR22, and 35 hours in actual instrument conditions. The airplane was managed by a management company. The pilot requested that it be refueled before the flight, but according to the […]
Mid-air kills one
Aircraft: Piper Seminole, Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: St. Paul, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: A Beech Bonanza and Piper Seminole were both flying in the local practice area in VFR conditions. A CFI aboard the Seminole reported that at about 7,500 feet MSL, he told the pilot receiving instruction to conduct a simulated emergency […]
Two reported dead in Galveston Gal crash
“Galveston Gal,” a P-51 owned by the Lone Star Flight Museum, has crashed, killing both occupants aboard, Houston-area media are reporting.
Cessna hits tree
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Smoketown, Pa. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot he was attempting to land and did not notice he was too low until the left wing hit a tree. The airplane veered left and hit the ground. Probable cause: The pilot did not maintain a proper approach path, […]