The private pilot reported that, while making a right turn during a personal flight, the flight controls “stuck.” She was unable to make aileron or elevator control inputs, and was also unable to correct the airplane’s bank using rudder inputs.
The Piper PA-18 subsequently descended in a right turn until it hit the ground near Sterling, Alaska. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash. [Read more…]
The accident occurred during the commercial pilot’s third flight of the day in the Mooney M20C.
The pilot, who used the airplane’s heater throughout the day, reported having a headache and experiencing “butterflies” in his stomach during the end of the first flight. The headache subsided after the flight, and he felt fine during the second flight, but the headache returned after he landed. [Read more…]
The private pilot, who was the owner and builder of the experimental amateur-built Harmon Rocket, and a commercial pilot departed on a local flight and performed three touch-and-go practice takeoffs and landings.
During the fourth takeoff, after reaching about 300′ above the ground, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The airplane made a right turn and crashed about 1,650′ from the end of the runway at Corona, California, resulting in one fatality and one serious injury. [Read more…]
The pilot and the passenger departed on a cross-country, personal flight in the Beech 300 that was purchased the day before the accident.
Shortly after takeoff, after reaching an altitude of about 100′ to 150′ above the runway at the airport in Tucson, Arizona, in a nose-high pitch attitude, the plane rolled left to an inverted position as its nose dropped, and it descended, crashing on airport property, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. Both the pilot and passenger died in the crash. [Read more…]
The Beech 95-C55 experienced a gear-up landing at the airport in Delta, Colorado, after the pilot was unable to extend the landing gear.
Post-accident examination of the landing gear motor revealed that the sector gear teeth were partially sheared and were bound with the worm gear teeth, resulting in interference. [Read more…]
The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight in a Cessna 172.
Fuel records indicated he had purchased 9.56 gallons of fuel the day before the accident. A witness reported observing the pilot use fuel cans to add fuel to both airplane’s fuel tanks.
The witness saw the pilot taxi up and down the runway multiple times and subsequently depart. He then drove to a nearby airport — the pilot’s intended destination — to pick up the pilot.
When the pilot did not arrive, he reported the airplane missing. [Read more…]
The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped Cessna 170 reported that, during the final approach to the airport in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, the airplane was too low, which he failed to notice and correct. [Read more…]
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Christen Industries Husky A-1 reported that, while en route, the engine had “slight roughness,” so he decided to land in an open snow-covered field on top of a hill near Milton-Freewater, Oregon, to troubleshoot the issue.
He resolved the engine issue on the ground and decided to take off downhill with a tailwind. [Read more…]
The commercial pilot was taking his cousin for a ride in the Bellanca 7GCBC.
During takeoff at the airport in Wellington, Texas, the plane remained in ground effect until it reached a point near or past the departure end of the runway, and then it entered a right climbing turn.
At an altitude of about 100′ to 150′ above ground level, the plane entered a left turn with a bank angle that increased to about 80° to 90° before it descended and hit the ground. Both the pilot and passenger died in the crash. [Read more…]
The pilot was maneuvering in the traffic pattern at the airport in San Antonio, Texas, at the time of the accident.
He entered a continuous right turn from downwind toward the final approach course when he abruptly lost control of the Cirrus SR22. [Read more…]
