Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Santa Paula, Calif. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to a witness, the Cessna was doing touch-and-goes at the airport around sunset. It then departed to the west toward a river. It didn’t climb higher than 100 feet above ground level and the engine sounded normal. A […]
NTSB Accidents
Density altitude, too much flap for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Price, Utah. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: It was a hot day when the pilot landed on a 3,600-foot-dirt strip at a field elevation of approximately 5,891 feet, then decided to take off again. He reported he took off with 20° of flaps and was never able to […]
Cub crunched by downdraft
Aircraft: Piper J3C-65. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Shepard, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings, said the wind was blowing directly down the runway about 5 to 10 knots during the takeoff roll. When the airplane reached an altitude of 50 feet, the pilot encountered turbulent […]
Test flight ends in crash
Aircraft: Glastar. Injuries: None. Location: Canon City, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The purpose of the flight was to test a new cooling modification on the engine. When the airplane was on the base leg of the pattern, the engine began overheating, then seized. The plane came down short of the runway in […]
Mooney goes into ditch
Aircraft: Mooney M20K Injuries: None. Location: Page, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: It was dusk when the pilot was taxiing from the transient parking towards the runway for takeoff. He said he was taxiing at a walking pace when he encountered a large ditch at the end of the tarmac. He was unable […]
Porpoise buckles Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Grand Forks, N.D. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot was practicing landings with his flight instructor. The airplane touched down right of the runway centerline and began to bounce. The student attempted to realign the airplane with the centerline. The bouncing continued with an escalating intensity. […]
Gust leads to hard landing
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Cortez, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot made three prior attempts to land, but aborted each landing due to gusty crosswind conditions. On the fourth attempt, the airplane “ballooned” and encountered a strong wind gust. The pilot was unable to maintain control and the airplane landed […]
Fuel selector mix up for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 140. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Burlington, Wis. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot took off with the fuel selector set to the right fuel tank, which was full of fuel. About 30 minutes after departure, he made a touch-and-go landing at his destination airport. During the climb out when the airplane […]
Cessna pilot encounters microburst
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Thornton, Colo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, 41, had logged more than 18,000 hours, including 8,200 in the Cessna 182. There was no record of him obtaining a weather briefing prior to the accident flight. Weather forecasts predicted fast moving thunderstorms with high wind gusts […]