Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Berne, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: There was no record of the 153-hour private pilot, who did not have an instrument rating, obtaining a weather briefing or filing a flight plan prior to the accident flight. Witnesses on the ground said the clouds were “right over […]
NTSB Accidents
Takeoff into thunderstorm kills three
Aircraft: Piper Malibu Mirage. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Rantoul, Ill. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The day before the accident the pilot, who was reported to have logged at least 1,850 hours, obtained a computerized weather briefing and filed a flight plan. However, none of the weather information he obtained was current at the […]
Accelerated stall at low altitude proves fatal
Aircraft: Grumman American. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Corona, Calif. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The Grumman was flying in mountainous terrain on what was supposed to be an introductory instructional flight. According to a witness on the ground, as the plane approached the foothills, it entered a series of turns while flying unusually low […]
Intoxicated non-pilot crashes after attempt at aerobatics
Aircraft: Polaris Polar Star. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Dewees Island, S.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to witnesses, the non-certified pilot was attempting to fly loops in an unregistered, experimental Polaris Polar Star. The weight-shift-control aircraft consisted of an inflatable boat attached to a fabric-covered wing. Since the aircraft qualified as a light-sport […]
Darkness leads to spatial disorientation
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Erwin, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, 79, held an instrument rating. According to a logbook recovered from the wreckage, he had accumulated 1,973 hours. In the 12 months preceding the accident, he logged 12 total hours of flight experience, of which 0.2 hours […]
Clogged fuel lines for RV
Aircraft: RV6. Injuries: None. Location: Hartford, Ky. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot had logged 2,643 hours, including 360 in the RV, which he built. He filled the auxiliary fuel tanks just prior to departing on the accident flight. It was the first time in eight or nine months that he used the […]
Lean mixture results in departure crash
Aircraft: Piper Pawnee Brave. Injuries: None. Location: Cambridge, Neb. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was departing on the first agricultural application flight of the day. As he was taxiing he noticed the engine temperature rising, so he leaned the mixture. He completed his engine run-up and took off. As the airplane was […]
Brakes put airplane on back
Aircraft: Cessna 120. Injuries: None. Location: Pendleton, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a local flight and decided to make an off-airport landing in an open field. The touchdown in the tailwheel-equipped airplane was uneventful until the pilot applied hard braking to minimize the landing roll on the rough terrain. […]
Density altitude bad for takeoff
Aircraft: Zenith CH701. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Paxton, Illinois. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, he took off with a slight, quartering tailwind in high density altitude conditions. The airplane did not continue climbing or gain altitude and the pilot realized that he would not clear power-lines at the end of […]