Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Park Falls, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the student pilot, the airplane was on final approach when it encountered unexpected wind. The pilot decided to abort the landing. During the attempted go-around, the plane encountered a right quartering tailwind, which blew it off the runway […]
Fuel exhaustion brings down Cherokee
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: San Angelo, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on the second leg of a cross-country flight when the engine lost power. He performed a forced landing in a field. According to the FAA inspector who examined the airplane, the left fuel tank had 17 gallons […]
Lack of IFR proficiency kills four
Aircraft: Beech Baron. Injuries: Four fatal. Location: Topeka, Kan. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, who held multi-engine and instrument ratings, had logged 438 hours, including 11 hours in actual instrument conditions. However, since passing his initial instrument proficiency check on Nov. 10, 2010, he had logged just 0.7 hours of instrument […]
Overrun for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Suchez, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was intending to land on the 2,000-foot grass runway. He overflew the airstrip to check the windsock and flew an approach to the runway, but executed a go-around because the airplane was too high. He made a second approach. […]
First flight, last flight
Aircraft: STOL CH701. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Pulaski, Wis. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, 67, was the builder of the experimental, amateur-built airplane. The accident was the airplane’s first flight. It was climbing out when it veered to the left and narrowly cleared a tree line. The plane entered a steep […]
System failures lead to hard landing
Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: None. Location: Ocala, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: While in cruise flight at 8,000 feet, the airplane lost electrical power. The pilot had the airport in sight, so he did not declare an emergency He selected the landing gear handle to the down-and-locked position, but he could not recall […]
Lack of training, altitude kills two
Aircraft: Christen Eagle II. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: San Angelo, Texas. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to an aerobatic flight instructor, the commercial pilot, who had logged 606 hours, had received 0.9 hours of dual aerobatic instruction from him in a Pitts S-2B airplane in 2009. No additional aerobatic instruction was noted in […]
Alcohol and IMC bad combination
Aircraft: Cessna 310. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: McComb, Miss. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 3,500-hour pilot, age 52, and two passengers arrived at the airport about 3:20 a.m. after going to a bar. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing or file an instrument flight rules flight plan. IFR conditions prevailed at […]
Crosswind compromises Cirrus
Aircraft: Cirrus SR22. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: South Bend, Ind. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land in winds from 300° at 15 knots with gusts to 24 knots. A witness on the ground stated that the airplane was being “bounced around” by the wind gusts and that it “stalled […]