After performing six touch-and-go maneuvers without incident, the pilot receiving instruction and flight instructor contacted air traffic control and requested a climb to 3,000′ to perform a simulated engine failure and landing maneuver.

The air traffic controller cleared the pilots for the maneuver and requested they report the base-to-final turn to the runway, and the pilot acknowledged the instructions.

The controller reported that, about 4 minutes later, he observed the Cirrus SR22 in a descending left turn. [Read more…]

About 20 minutes after takeoff, the Piper PA-28’s engine experienced a total loss of power.

During the off-airport forced landing near Rowesville, S.C., the right aileron was substantially damaged. [Read more…]

The pilot, accompanied by a flight instructor, was conducting mountainous backcountry familiarization training.

The flight instructor reported they taxied about 1,000′ down the runway because the field was wet. During takeoff at a high altitude (6,370′ elevation) backcountry airstrip in Stanley, Idaho, the airplane became airborne near the end of the runway.

During the initial climb, the flight instructor reported the pilot pulled back on the yoke abruptly, which caused the nose of the Cessna 182 to pitch up and obstruct their forward view. [Read more…]

The airline transport pilot reported that he was flying his experimental, amateur-built Tiger Moth about 500′ above ground level over his ranch in Decatur, Texas, when he smelled something burning. [Read more…]

The pilot reported that, during the initial climb after takeoff in the Mini Max 1200, he noticed the controls were “loose and sloppy.” He decided to return to the airport in Batesville, Indiana, and land. [Read more…]

According to the pilot, he was returning to his home airport after purchasing the Glasair SH-2F. Before returning home, he received a two-hour checkout in the airplane.

Upon arrival at the airport in State College, Pa., the weather had deteriorated. Rain made it hard to see and the wind was gusting.

The pilot had to go around during the first landing due to the wind.

During the second landing he undercompensated for the wind and the airplane landed hard, bounced and touched down again off the left side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. [Read more…]

The flight instructor reported that this was her fifth instructional flight with the student and that they were practicing takeoffs and landings in the pattern at the airport in Cornelia, Georgia. She recalled that the previous landing accomplished by the student was “squirrelly.”

She reminded the student pilot “how and why not to use the pedals during the landing roll, and to stay off of the brakes.”

She recalled that the student completed the next approach and landing and both were stable. [Read more…]

During a local flight, the pilot and passenger, who held a student pilot certificate, were searching a lake for a submerged boat.

The passenger stated that while maneuvering at a low altitude, the pilot banked the Kitfox IV about 45° to 60° at an airspeed of about 50 miles per hour.

During the turn, the airplane stalled, entered a spin, and hit the water in the lake near De Smet, S.D. The pilot died in the crash and the passenger was seriously injured. [Read more…]

According to the pilot of the Cessna 172, he made a normal landing, but the plane began to veer left of the centerline during the landing roll.

He corrected with right rudder and heard a “thump” as if something affixed to the airplane was being dragged, and the rudder steering became ineffective. [Read more…]

During an aerial application flight to apply fungicide to a wheat field, the pilot was flying the Rockwell S2R from west to east making a spray pass along the south edge of the field, which was bordered by powerlines.

About 660′ from the west end of the field where the pilot started his spray pass, a set of guy wires originated from the top of one of the utility poles that supported the powerlines, extended about 65′ into the field, and ran directly perpendicular to and in line with the airplane’s flight path.

However, the pilot failed to maintain clearance with the guy wires, and the airplane’s outboard right wing hit the wires.

The airplane subsequently veered right and hit the powerlines, crossed a road that bordered the field on the south, and collided with a stand of trees near De Smet, Idaho.

The airplane came to rest within the stand of trees about 490′ southeast of the initial impact point with the guy wires. The pilot died in the crash.

Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Given that the sun was very close to the horizon and would have been almost directly in the pilot’s eyes as he attempted to avoid the guy wires, it is likely that sun glare contributed to his difficulty in maintaining clearance from the wires.

Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate visual lookout, which resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from guy wires during an aerial application flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s reduced ability to see the guy wires due to sun glare.

NTSB Identification: WPR16FA120

This June 2016 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.