During the takeoff roll, a hawk struck the Bellanca’s windscreen and then struck the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The plane veered to the right, exited the runway in Delavan, Wis., and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder, while the pilot sustained minor injuries. A post-accident examination revealed that […]
NTSB Accidents
Cessna 182 hits fence
After an uneventful departure, climb, and cruise, the pilot performed a standard 45° entry into the traffic pattern at the high elevation airport in Big Bear, Calif. The Cessna 182Q descended low during the final approach, and the pilot applied full forward throttle control. The engine responded, however the descent was not arrested as he […]
Failure to maintain control during go-around proves fatal
The Cirrus SR20 was captured on airport surveillance cameras as the pilot attempted to land in Bolingbrook, Ill. A review of the video revealed that the plane touched down multiple times about halfway down the runway. During the go-around, witnesses reported that they observed the SR20 depart the runway and make a left turn at […]
RV-6 hits power lines
Witnesses reported observing the RV-6 traveling very low and fast over terrain near Williams, Calif. They then saw the airplane disappear behind a hill, followed by rising black smoke. During the post-accident on-site examination, the lowest wire of a high-tension power line that crossed over a shallow valley was found broken, and a fragment of […]
Health issues lead to loss of control
The 58-year-old student pilot attempted a takeoff in light wind in Limington, Maine, but about 2,000 feet down the runway, he lost control of the Cessna 172. Only one witness saw the airplane after liftoff, and noted that it was “swerving all over the place before it crashed.” While airborne, the plane veered off the […]
Student pilot’s solo flight ends in fatal fire
Several eyewitnesses reported observing the Piper Cherokee performing several takeoffs and landings in Danville, Va. One witness stated that, during one landing attempt, the airplane was low, that a go-around was initiated, and that the airplane banked sharply left and right during the maneuver. The witness reported that the second landing attempt was successful and […]
Failure to remove rudder gust lock kills two
The pilot/owner purchased the Aeronca 7AC about a month before the accident and was flying near Taunton, Mass., with a pilot-rated passenger who owned a similar model airplane. A witness reported that the airplane accelerated and climbed normally to an altitude of about 50 to 100 feet above the ground. It then entered a slow […]
Incorrect maintenance by owner brings down RV-7A
The pilot was also the owner/builder of the Van’s RV-7A. He had removed and reinstalled the engine after the plane experienced a propeller strike. The accident flight was the first flight after the engine was reinstalled. According to the pilot, he performed high-speed taxi runs, followed by a normal takeoff in Cortland, N.Y. After takeoff, […]
One hard landing leads to another
The pilot reported that while taxiing for takeoff in the Cessna 172P for a local flight with passengers in Mitchellville, Md., the right rudder felt “stiff.” Once in the air, the rudder operated normally, however, the pilot’s first landing was “hard.” After picking up a second set of passengers, he noticed that while taxiing back […]