Aircraft: Bellanca Citabria. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Brockton, Mont. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: Witnesses said the airplane made two low-altitude, 360° turns, climbed rapidly, then descended into the ground. They reported that the engine sounded normal throughout the accident sequence. The post-accident examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have […]
NTSB Accidents
Loose canopy distracts pilot
Aircraft: Skeeter 1M. Injuries: 1 Fatal.Location: Oklahoma City. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was flying his homebuilt airplane on a cross-country flight when the canopy came loose. He diverted to another airport to land and secure the canopy. He was on the downwind leg in the traffic pattern and another airplane was on final […]
Link: ‘Crashing a Belite Airplane’
James Wiebe, owner of Belite Aircraft, has an opinion. He’s one of the more transparent people I’ve met. It doesn’t surprise me he wrote about the accident of a Belite UltraCub on his website. The details of this stall/spin accident, in which the pilot survived, is eye-opening.
Disoriented pilot crashes
Aircraft: Cessna 350 Corvalis. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Salisbury, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: Before the airplane continued on a cross-country flight, a lineman at the airport spoke to the pilot, who did not have an instrument rating, and mentioned the marginal nature of the weather. The pilot responded that he was going to stay below […]
Electrical failure for Piper
Aircraft: Piper Twin Comanche Injuries: None. Location: Roanoke, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross-country flight when he noticed that the alternators were producing just 9 volts. He tried switching the alternators off and on several times, but was unable to get them to indicate more than 8 to 9 volts. He […]
Super Cub spins on icy runway
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Thedford, Neb. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot landed on an icy runway. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear hit a patch of ice and the airplane veered to the left. Efforts to regain directional control were unsuccessful, and the airplane spun more than 90° to […]
Failure to use checklist contributes to gear-up landing
Aircraft: Piper Twin Comanche Injuries: None. Location: Culpeper, Va. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: While on approach to the destination airport, the pilot moved the landing gear handle to the “down” position and noted that the green landing gear down-and-locked light didn’t illuminate. He recycled the landing gear several times but still the lights did not illuminate. […]
Mag malfunction leads to off-airport landing
Aircraft: Piper Arrow III. Injuries: 3 Minor. Location: Kalispell, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane had just taken off and was at an altitude between 300 and 500 feet AGL over a residential area when the engine started to sputter and lose power. The pilot selected a long street on which to make a forced […]
Hand-propping results in wild ride for passenger
Aircraft: Alon A2. Injuries: None. Location: Forks, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot planned on starting his airplane by hand-propping, because the battery was dead. After loading his passenger, he set the throttle and the parking brake, but he did not tie down the airplane or place chocks in front of its wheels. When he […]