The solo student pilot was attempting to land the Cessna 172 on the runway in Grand Forks, N.D. His first approach was too fast, so he performed a go-around. During the second attempted landing, the plane landed hard and bounced. The student initiated a second go-around and pitched the nose up 10° to 15°. During […]
aviation accidents
Fuel starvation brings down Mooney
The Mooney M20K’s engine lost power in flight, and the pilot made a forced landing to a field near Hudson, Colo. The pilot was seriously injured. During the post-accident examination, one pint of fuel was recovered from the right wing fuel tank, and 7.5 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left wing fuel tank. The […]
Tailwind during flare bends Cub
The accident happened when the pilot of the CubCrafters Cub was attempting a landing at a backcountry airstrip in Payson, Ariz. During the landing flare, the plane floated longer than expected and drifted to the left. The pilot added full power to go around, but it was not soon enough to keep the left main […]
Baron hits runway light on go-around
The pilot of the Beechcraft Baron was attempting to land at an airport in St. Paul, Minn. After touching down, he realized he had landed long, and was concerned about being able to bring the plane to a stop before he ran out of runway, so he initiated a go-around. During climb-out, the pilot heard […]
Moose stalls during approach
The pilot of the Murphy Moose reported that he had flown into the airport in Galt, Calif., previously but never in the Moose. While on final approach, he noticed power lines between his position and the runway, and he “pulled back” on the elevator control to overfly the power lines. He continued the approach and […]
Experimental airplane bent by crosswind
The pilot of the Harmon Rocket was attempting to land at South Lake Tahoe airport. He contacted UNICOM as he approached the airport and was told that the gusting wind of 10 to 15 knots favored the southern runway and that there was a crosswind from the right. The first attempt to land resulted in […]
RV balloons on landing
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, was attempting to land the RV-7A at an airport in Altoona, Pa. He maintained 80 mph on final approach and slowed to 70 mph at touchdown. Upon touchdown on the main landing gear, a wind gust occurred, and the airplane ballooned, then came down hard on the nose landing […]
Failure to obey AD leads to mismanagement of fuel
The owner of the airplane was a commercial pilot, however according to the flight instructor he flew with, he had a medical condition for which his insurance carrier required him to fly with a CFI. During the preflight inspection, the pilot/owner of the Beech Musketeer observed about 20 gallons of fuel in the left main […]
Pilot’s foot slips on landing
According to the pilot, he landed the Luscombe 8A on the runway in Orangeburg, S.C., when his foot slipped off the right rudder pedal, resulting in a swerve to the left. He applied wheel brakes to slow the plane, then increased the pressure, fearing the Luscombe would hit a pond at the end of the […]