The WACO YMF pilot departed from Runway 26, and flew over a local golf course, then turned to return to the airport in Somerville, N.J., where she entered the traffic pattern on the downwind leg for runway 26, flying between 75 and 80 knots. She descended to 800 feet and, prior to turning base leg, […]
aviation accidents
Fuel exhaustion proves fatal
The pilot was departing on a short cross-country flight to deliver the Cessna 172C for some elective maintenance. He requested and received clearance for an intersection departure at the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska. After departure, an air traffic controller instructed the pilot to turn left and proceed on course, but he did not respond. Controllers […]
Fire forces forced landing
The pilot reported that he smelled “electrical” smoke during a cross-country flight in his RV-4. He decided to land immediately and moved the throttle to idle. He diverted the airplane but, when he realized that it was not going to be able to reach the diversion airpark, he executed a precautionary landing to a pasture […]
Premature jump kills parachutist
The Boeing B75N1 pilot reported that he briefed the planned jump with the parachutists before departure during a festival in Tampa, Florida, and that the parachutists were supposed to jump after reaching 2,800 feet mean sea level (msl). About 30 minutes before the jump, the right-wing parachutist requested to depart from the right wing rather […]
Night landing on lake goes bad
According to the pilot, night was approaching when he landed the Cessna 185 seaplane on a lake near Northeast Carry, Maine, and taxied to shore to discover he was at the wrong destination. He began to taxi along the shore, but then decided to takeoff again to regain his bearings and land at his intended […]
Loss of control on landing dings Tecnam P92
The pilot reported that while in the traffic pattern at the airport in Watsonville, Calif., the Tecnam P92’s right rudder stopped responding. She aligned the airplane with the runway for landing and touched down long. During the landing roll, she lost directional control and the plane departed the runway, and continued through the grass and […]
Two killed in P51 crash
The pilot and passenger departed on a flight near Galveston, Texas, in a North American P51D, a vintage warbird. After departure, radar tracked the flight along a bay in a southwestern direction. A witness reported that he heard the airplane overhead heading south and then saw it slowly turn north and appear to descend at […]
Cessna 210 hits fence during forced landing
About 35 minutes into the cross-country flight, the Cessna T210M’s engine lost power, and the airplane started to descend near Scipio, Utah. Although the engine lost power when the airplane was flying directly over, and in line with, a wide road, which would have provided ample space for a safe landing, the pilot was unable […]
Flight into icing brings down Sportsman
A review of air traffic control recordings indicated that, after the Glasair Sportsman GS-2 crossed over the mountains, the pilot checked in with the Denver terminal radar approach controller and expressed concern about the weather at her destination airport. After receiving weather for a closer airport, which included visibility 1.5 miles in mist with a […]