The pilot of the float-equipped Helio Courier stated that after takeoff from a lake near Bethel, Alaska, about 30-50 feet above the treetops, the plane encountered a downdraft and descended uncontrolled into trees and terrain. The nearest weather reporting station was 7 nm to the north, and reported that the wind was 350° true at […]
NTSB Accidents
Crop duster hits power lines
The pilot reported that during an agricultural application flight in a Schweizer G 164 B, he was making spray passes under a power line near Paxton, Nebraska. During the last pass, the left wing hit the power line, and the plane descended and hit the ground. The pilot exited the airplane, and a post-crash fire ensued. […]
Building, maintenance errors lead to wreck
The pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the Schilling S-19, an experimental, amateur-built airplane, “ballooned.” He then relaxed back pressure on the control stick to correct, however the plane then hit the runway hard and departed the left side at the airport in East Falmouth, Mass. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the stabilator […]
Fuel exhaustion leads to emergency landing in hay field
The pilot exhausted all the fuel in both of the fuel tanks prior to reaching his destination, and was forced to maneuver for an emergency landing in a hay field near Lexington, Nebraska. After he lost sight of the hay bales that lined the field, he decided to “slightly pull up.” Subsequently, the Piper PA-28 aerodynamically […]
Pilot error leads to stall
The SkyStar Series 5 pilot reported that while on short final about 20 feet above the ground at the airport in Green River, Utah, he noticed the “attitude was a little flat.” He added the airplane lost altitude “so fast, he didn’t have time to react or even think to put the nose down or […]
SuperStol ground loops
The pilot reported that during takeoff he “lost rudder control” and the SuperStol exited the runway to the left at the airport in Santa Rosa, N.M. During the runway excursion, the airplane ground looped, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing hit terrain.The left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot stated there […]
Piper pilot’s landing goes awry
The pilot reported that during the landing at the airport in Doylestown, Pa., she “landed at the last 1,000′ of available runway and attempted to stop the aircraft using toe brakes and aerodynamic braking, but this was insufficient.” The Piper PA-28R-200 departed the runway into the grass and the right wing struck a taxiway light. A […]
C210 pilot lands with gear up
The Cessna 210 pilot overflew the destination airport and landed at a nearby airport to fuel the airplane. After fueling, he departed for the destination airport in Soda Springs, Idaho, and was on a straight-in approach for the runway. Before touching down on the runway, he neglected to extend the landing gear and landed with the gear […]
Cropduster hits wires
The pilot reported that after conducting a pass over a field near Fort Pierre, S.D., during an aerial application flight, he passed clear of a tower but did not see the tower support guy-wires and hit them. “After the guy-wire impact there was an immediate sound of the engine starting to lose power and/or shut […]