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 […]
NTSB Accidents
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 […]
Nose-gear mishap for Bellanca
Aircraft: Bellanca Viking. Injuries: None. Location: Kansas City, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The accident happened during landing. According to the pilot, the airplane touched down, then suddenly veered off the left side of the runway and into the Precision Approach Path Indicator light system. The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that a rod end […]
Fast descent leads to bad bounce
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Mokuleia, Hawaii. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The accident happened during the approach to landing. According to the pilot, as the airplane approached the runway, he realized that the descent rate was higher than normal. He was unable to stop the rapid descent and the airplane touched down hard, bounced, and […]
Wake turbulence tumbles Mooney
Aircraft: Mooney M20. Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Minor. Location: Fayetteville, N.C. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was in the traffic pattern for landing and was informed by the tower air traffic controller that there was a Gulfstream at his one o’clock position on a five-mile final approach. The pilot replied “I see the Gulfstream, ah […]
Lights distract pilot
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Six. Injuries: None. Location: Swainsboro, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land at night in visual meteorological conditions. The runway lights were set on high intensity, which diluted the threshold lights. The airplane hit trees during final approach about 2,400 feet before the runway threshold. The pilot stated he […]