aviation accidents

According to the pilot, he was returning to his home airport after purchasing the Glasair SH-2F. Before returning home, he received a two-hour checkout in the airplane. Upon arrival at the airport in State College, Pa., the weather had deteriorated. Rain made it hard to see and the wind was gusting. The pilot had to […]

The flight instructor reported that this was her fifth instructional flight with the student and that they were practicing takeoffs and landings in the pattern at the airport in Cornelia, Georgia. She recalled that the previous landing accomplished by the student was “squirrelly.” She reminded the student pilot “how and why not to use the […]

During a local flight, the pilot and passenger, who held a student pilot certificate, were searching a lake for a submerged boat. The passenger stated that while maneuvering at a low altitude, the pilot banked the Kitfox IV about 45° to 60° at an airspeed of about 50 miles per hour. During the turn, the […]

According to the pilot of the Cessna 172, he made a normal landing, but the plane began to veer left of the centerline during the landing roll. He corrected with right rudder and heard a “thump” as if something affixed to the airplane was being dragged, and the rudder steering became ineffective. He recalled that, […]

During an aerial application flight to apply fungicide to a wheat field, the pilot was flying the Rockwell S2R from west to east making a spray pass along the south edge of the field, which was bordered by powerlines. About 660′ from the west end of the field where the pilot started his spray pass, […]

The pilot of the Beech F33A departed on a cross-country flight, but did not visually check the amount of fuel in the main tanks before departure, relying on his fuel gauges, which indicated the left tank was 2/3 full and the right tank was 1/2 full. Both wingtip fuel tanks were empty. The pilot departed […]

According to the pilot, during the taxi from the runway to parking at the airport in Shawnee, Oklahoma, he made a left turn into his parking space. He reported that he had parked at this location many times before, and that his main concern at the time was to ensure that he did not run […]

The pilot and the passenger, a friend who was previously a student pilot but never completed his training, were making their first flight together. The pilot, who sustained serious injuries, did not recall the accident. The passenger reported that the pilot took off from the departure airport and then transferred the controls to him and […]

The pilot estimated that he departed on the 10-minute, 16-mile, local flight with one fuel tank about half full and the other tank about a quarter full. He did not recall which tank he had the fuel selector positioned to during takeoff. During descent for landing, he observed the engine rpm decrease to between 500 and […]