Aircraft: Aeronca Champ. Injuries: None. Location: Valparasio, Indiana. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: As the airplane touched down it veered to the right and went off the runway into a ditch. The main landing gear collapsed. No defects were found with the airplane’s brake system. However, photographic evidence of skid marks showed that the tailwheel experienced shimmy […]
NTSB Accidents
Soft field landing goes badly
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Gerlach, Nev. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was flying the airplane over a large open desert playa. The surface appeared to be flat and dry. Upon touching down, the landing gear dug into what turned out to be the about 8-inch deep soft soil. The airplane cartwheeled to […]
Airplane collides with cow
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Roundup, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on a dirt road. He overflew the area, noting a group of cows nearby before entering a left-hand pattern. During the landing flare, the pilot saw a cow approaching from the left. He attempted to swerve to miss […]
Inaccurate fuel gauges contribute to crash
Aircraft: Fairchild M-62A-3. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Waukegan, Illinois. Aircraft damage: What reportedly happened: The pilot checked the airplane’s fuel quantity using the fuel gauges but did not perform a visual inspection of the fuel tanks or top off the tanks. He selected the right fuel tank because its gauge indicated that it was 3/4 full. During the […]
Bad bounce bends LSA
Aircraft: Aero AT-4. Injuries: None. Location: San Diego, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land. When the airplane was about 3 feet above the ground, the airplane stalled, touched down hard and bounced. The pilot applied power to abort the landing but the LSA pulled to the left. The airplane bounced a […]
Inexperienced pilot ground-loops
Aircraft: Cessna 170. Injuries: None. Location: Fairbanks, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel-equipped airplane on a gravel airstrip. During the landing roll, the airplane ground-looped to the left and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot stated that the accident could have been avoided if he had more […]
Bad bounce for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Westminister, Md. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on the 1,840-foot runway. The plane’s airspeed was higher than recommended for a short-field landing. The airplane touched down, bounced, and floated, touched down and bounced again. After a third touchdown the pilot initiated a go-around. He returned […]
Unairworthy airplane, out of practice pilot proves fatal
Aircraft: Velocity RG. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Sanford, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 375-hour pilot had owned the airplane for seven years and in that time had flown it for a total of 24 hours. His last flight took place 18 months before the fatal accident. The airplane’s airworthiness certificate was issued in 1996. According […]
Student runs out of fuel
Aircraft: Cessna 120. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Cordele, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot was endorsed for solo flight in Cessna 120 and Cessna 150 aircraft. He also had an endorsement to make repeated solo cross-country flights. Review of the pilot’s personal flight log revealed that between Feb. 23, 2009, and the date of […]