The pilot of the float-equipped Cessna 180 reported that, during landing on a lake in Willow, Alaska, after observing what he thought were ripples on the water, the airplane touched down sooner than he expected.
[Read more…]Fuel exhaustion fatal for two
The private pilot and the passenger were making a local personal flight in the Grumman AA1.
According to witnesses, the airplane was flying “low” in the vicinity of the runway at the airport in Portland, Tennessee, when it hit trees and terrain in a nose-down attitude. Both the pilot and passenger died in the crash.
[Read more…]Fuel exhaustion leads to remote forced landing
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-12 was transporting hunters to a remote cabin in Alaska.
The flight was a 146-mile multileg flight, which departed with about 20 gallons of fuel, which he believed was sufficient for the approximate two-hour flight with about 30 minutes for fuel reserve.
[Read more…]First solo goes awry
The solo student pilot reported that, after completing three takeoffs and landings unassisted with his flight instructor, he took off for his first solo.
He added that, during the first solo landing, the airplane “floated” in ground effect for about 4 to 5 seconds, and he added rudder to align the airplane with the runway centerline.
He said the airplane’s nosewheel was “not straight when it touched down” on the runway at the airport in Chandler, Arizona.
[Read more…]Gear up landing bends plane
The Rockwell International 114 touched down during landing at the airport in Cairo, Illinois, with the landing gear retracted and skidded to a stop in grass about 140′ past the end of the runway threshold.
The pilot reported during a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge that, “it was a simple gear-up landing, I forgot to put the switch down.”
[Read more…]Experimental biplane crashes into trees
The pilot of the experimental, amateur-built biplane reported that, following a normal initial climb from the runway at the airport in Bowling Green, Kentucky, about 100′ above the ground, the Curtiss JN4D started an uncommanded left turn, followed by a descent.
He added that it became apparent that the flightpath was into the tree line, and he “attempted to climb to possibly maintain at least an altitude to clear the trees, but to no avail, nearly stalling.”
[Read more…]Cub pilot hits hangar during tailwheel training
The flight instructor, who was providing tailwheel instruction in the Piper J-3 Cub, reported that, after several dual landings, he exited the airplane to allow the pilot receiving instruction to conduct a solo flight.
[Read more…]Bad weather leads to hard forced landing
According to the pilot, he and his passenger were waiting in the FBO building for the storm system to pass. When the storm system appeared to have passed and the wind had calmed significantly, he checked the Automated Surface Observing System and took off from Runway 21 at the airport in Moab, Utah.
[Read more…]Overpriming engine leads to fire
The flight instructor, student pilot, and pilot-rated passenger flew on a short cross-country instructional flight to practice stop-and-go landings.
On the first landing, after touchdown, the student pilot reduced the engine power to idle, and the engine lost total power. The Piper PA-28 stopped on the runway at the airport in Palatka, Florida, and the student pilot noted that the electric fuel pump was still on from landing and that the mixture control was full forward.
[Read more…]Fuel exhaustion leads to forced landing
According to the pilot, he was flying a 400-nautical-mile, cross-county flight in the Cessna 177RG.
He reported that the outside air temperature along the route had been hot. He recalled that the engine temperature had been high and that he “increased the mixture to cool the engine down multiple times.”
As he approached his destination, the engine began “coughing for 3-4 minutes” before it stopped. He attempted to land at the destination airport, but was unable to reach it, so he made a forced landing in a mud-filled drainage channel about .5 mile north of the airport in Byron, California.
[Read more…]