aviation accidents

Witnesses reported that the pilot/owner/builder of the experimental, amateur-built, turbine-engine-powered Lancair IVP had been troubleshooting the landing gear and electrical system on the day of the accident. After working on the airplane, he made an uneventful flight. Later that day, he departed on a flight with two other certificated pilots aboard. About 40 minutes later, […]

The owner/pilot of the Cessna 120 regularly made roundtrip flights between his home airport and another airport about 25 miles to the northwest. A north-south mountain range, with peaks ranging between 8,300 and 9,400 feet above mean sea level (msl), separated the two airports. Due to the limited climb capability of the airplane, on each […]

The pilot reported that after landing at the airport in Glendale, Ariz., and during the turn onto a taxiway intersection, he inadvertently raised the landing gear lever by mistake, rather than the adjacent flap lever. The left landing gear collapsed, which caused the left wing tip to strike the ground. The impact resulted in substantial […]

The pilot’s friend reported that he planned to fly his recently purchased twin-engine Aerostar 601P over his friend’s home near Aurora, Colo., to show it to him and another friend. The pilot’s friends and several other witnesses reported observing the pilot performing low-level, high-speed aerobatic maneuvers before the plane collided with trees and then terrain. The […]

The pilot reported he had not flown the Mooney M20J for years, but once or twice a year, he would taxi the plane up and down his private airstrip near Lamar, Colo. On this occasion, he taxied the airplane on the airstrip, and for some unknown reason, he decided to pull back on the yoke […]

During a cross-country flight in the Diamond DA-40, the pilot decided to divert to the airport in Coolidge, Ariz., due to personal needs. He reported flying the normal pattern and making a stabilized approach. Upon touchdown the plane veered to the left and he corrected with right rudder. The plane then started to rotate to […]

The commercial pilot was concluding a personal flight with two passengers on board the Cessna 421. He reported that, during the landing roll and after a normal touchdown on the concrete runway in Charleston, S.C., the right main landing gear collapsed. The plane then veered right and hit two runway lights, which resulted in substantial […]

The pilot reported that, about 15 minutes into the flight and six miles from his arrival airport, the Titan 51 Mustang lost all engine and electrical power. He established the best glide speed for the plane, turned on the auxiliary fuel pump switch, and tried to extend the landing gear. When he realized that the […]

The owner of the recently-purchased, 65-hp Kitfox II was undergoing tailwheel endorsement training. He and the flight instructor had previously flown the plane about nine hours, for about two hours each time, with no problems noted. They had begun the flight about an hour earlier; the wind was from the west, and they were landing […]