The solo student pilot was performing a touch-and-go landing and touched down too far down the runway at the airport in Tomball, Texas. He trimmed the Cessna 172R, raised the flaps, and advanced the throttle for takeoff. He became unsure of the runway distance remaining, so he reduced the throttle to idle and applied the […]
NTSB Accidents
Low flight over rice field catches Champion
The pilot reported that he was flying low over a rice field in Willows, Calif., when the Champion’s wheels caught in the vegetation. He tried to pull up, but the plane was pulled down into the rice field.After touch down, it nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine mounts, wings and empennage. […]
Bird strike dents Cessna 172
The flight instructor stated that, while in cruise flight at an altitude of 2,500 feet near Christmas, Florida, he observed two large birds directly ahead of the airplane. He assumed control of the Cessna 172P from the student pilot and attempted to maneuver around them, but one of the birds hit the left wing, resulting […]
WACO rolls over on landing
The WACO YMF pilot departed from Runway 26, and flew over a local golf course, then turned to return to the airport in Somerville, N.J., where she entered the traffic pattern on the downwind leg for runway 26, flying between 75 and 80 knots. She descended to 800 feet and, prior to turning base leg, […]
Fuel exhaustion proves fatal
The pilot was departing on a short cross-country flight to deliver the Cessna 172C for some elective maintenance. He requested and received clearance for an intersection departure at the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska. After departure, an air traffic controller instructed the pilot to turn left and proceed on course, but he did not respond. Controllers […]
Fire forces forced landing
The pilot reported that he smelled “electrical” smoke during a cross-country flight in his RV-4. He decided to land immediately and moved the throttle to idle. He diverted the airplane but, when he realized that it was not going to be able to reach the diversion airpark, he executed a precautionary landing to a pasture […]
Premature jump kills parachutist
The Boeing B75N1 pilot reported that he briefed the planned jump with the parachutists before departure during a festival in Tampa, Florida, and that the parachutists were supposed to jump after reaching 2,800 feet mean sea level (msl). About 30 minutes before the jump, the right-wing parachutist requested to depart from the right wing rather […]
Night landing on lake goes bad
According to the pilot, night was approaching when he landed the Cessna 185 seaplane on a lake near Northeast Carry, Maine, and taxied to shore to discover he was at the wrong destination. He began to taxi along the shore, but then decided to takeoff again to regain his bearings and land at his intended […]
Loss of control on landing dings Tecnam P92
The pilot reported that while in the traffic pattern at the airport in Watsonville, Calif., the Tecnam P92’s right rudder stopped responding. She aligned the airplane with the runway for landing and touched down long. During the landing roll, she lost directional control and the plane departed the runway, and continued through the grass and […]