Aircraft: Cessna 152. Injuries: None. Location: Miami, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student and flight instructor reported that, during their preflight inspection, 4.5 quarts of oil was in the engine sump and the fuel tanks were full. Another quart of oil was added to the engine before takeoff. About 1 hour 40 minutes into the […]
NTSB Accidents
Low altitude stall for Cessna 150
Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Gulf Shores, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: A flight instructor and student pilot were returning to the airport at the conclusion of a local training flight. The student made the landing approach. The airplane touched down hard and bounced. The CFI directed the student to apply full engine power and […]
Lack of experience puts Kitfox off runway
Aircraft: Kitfox V. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Owenton, Ky. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was the owner of the airplane, was on an instructional flight to obtain a tailwheel endorsement. He reported that the airplane experienced a sudden gust of windjust after liftoff and that he overcorrected, which caused the airplane to stall and […]
Emergency landing at night goes bad
Aircraft: Cessna 185F. Injuries: None. Location: Winnett, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot held a commercial certificate but did not have a current medical or flight review at the time of the accident. He had recently purchased the airplane, which had previously been in storage. He refueled the plane prior to the night flight. According […]
T-6 flips on landing
Aircraft: North American AT-6. Injuries: None. Location: Delmar, Del. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was delivering the recently-sold vintage military trainer. He first landed at a paved airport near the new owner’s farm. The new owner then asked the pilot to fly the airplane to a dirt airstrip on the farm. He went to the […]
Gusty crosswind bends Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Moscow Mills, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot attempted to take off from the 3,227-foot runway with the wind from 180° at 13 knots gusting to 23 knots. When the airplane was about 5 to 10 feet above the runway, it encountered a strong gust of wind and drifted […]
Poor fuel flow brings down Piper
Aircraft: Piper Tri-Pacer. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Bangor, Mich. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: On the day before the accident, the owner/pilot made a forced landing to a field due to a loss of engine power. Examination of the airplane after the off-airport landing revealed that the gascolator screen was almost completely plugged by a flaky, shellac-type […]
VFR into IMC kills one
Aircraft: Cirrus SR20. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Moscow, Tenn. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot told employees at the airport that he was in a hurry to depart due to possible bad weather in the area. He did not file a flight plan before he took off in IFR conditions. A review of radar data […]
Takeoff with tailwind leads to loss of control
Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Ketchikan, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane told investigators that he took off from runway 29 with a slight left quartering tailwind. As the airplane accelerated, it veered to the left although he was applying full right rudder. The airplane then veered right, and the […]