The student pilot said there was a mild crosswind on final approach to the airport in Mesquite, Texas. The crosswind “picked up” before the Cessna 172 as it touched down left of centerline. He retracted the flaps and advanced the throttle to continue the touch-and-go. The airplane continued to drift to the left and the […]
aviation accidents
Pilot loses control on takeoff roll
The pilot reported that he lost directional control of the Luscombe 8A during the takeoff roll at the airport in Ellinwood, Kansas. The plane encountered soft ground conditions when it reached the shoulder of the runway. It went into the adjoining field and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. The […]
Pilots hits lights after landing in displaced threshold
According to the pilot, he was completing a short cross-country flight in a Beech 58 and planned a practice short field landing at the airport in New Bedford, Mass. He landed on his planned touchdown point, but did not take the height of the runway threshold lights into consideration. During the final approach, the plane […]
Hard landing dents 172
During the student pilot’s first approach for landing at the airport in Santa Barbara, Calif., she felt she was too high and did a go-around. On the second approach the Cessna 172S landed hard, and the propeller struck the runway. A post-accident examination of the airframe revealed a damaged propeller, and substantial damage to the […]
Bounced landing ends in drainage ditch
During a solo cross-country flight the student pilot had attempted to land twice at the airport in Redlands, Calif., but due to the gusty wind conditions he had aborted the attempts. On the third attempt, the gusty wind conditions had not changed. The student pilot reported that his approach speed was never low enough to extend […]
Cessna 140 hits fence after bounced landing
The pilot reported that the Cessna 140 bounced on landing at the airport in Jonesboro, Ark., and encountered a wind gust after it ascended above the corn crop that bordered the runway. He aborted the landing attempt when he realized he was unable to regain control of the airplane with enough runway remaining to ensure […]
Retracting flaperons too early brings down floatplane
The pilot reported that he took off from the surface of the lake in Wurtsboro, N.Y., in an FPNA A-22 Valor into a 9-knot wind. Once the light-sport floatplane climbed above the treetops, the pilot initiated a left turn and retracted the flaperons “simultaneously.” At that time, the control wheel rotated left, and the pilot […]
Fatigue failure brings down ag plane
The pilot reported that the Grumman G164A aerial-application airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power while en route to the field to be sprayed near Monte Vista, Colo. He jettisoned the plane’s chemical load following the loss of engine power, but it was unable to maintain altitude and he made a forced landing in […]
Cardiac event leads to crash
The RV-6A was one of a group of five airplanes traveling to a fly-in. The group planned to land at an interim stop before continuing to the fly-in the following day. The RV was the fourth to land at the airport in Knox, Ind. During the approach, it hit the ground about where a base-to-final […]