Aircraft: Cessna 185F. Injuries: None. Location: Winnett, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot held a commercial certificate but did not have a current medical or flight review at the time of the accident. He had recently purchased the airplane, which had previously been in storage. He refueled the plane prior to the night flight. According […]
aviation accidents
T-6 flips on landing
Aircraft: North American AT-6. Injuries: None. Location: Delmar, Del. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was delivering the recently-sold vintage military trainer. He first landed at a paved airport near the new owner’s farm. The new owner then asked the pilot to fly the airplane to a dirt airstrip on the farm. He went to the […]
Gusty crosswind bends Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Moscow Mills, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot attempted to take off from the 3,227-foot runway with the wind from 180° at 13 knots gusting to 23 knots. When the airplane was about 5 to 10 feet above the runway, it encountered a strong gust of wind and drifted […]
Poor fuel flow brings down Piper
Aircraft: Piper Tri-Pacer. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Bangor, Mich. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: On the day before the accident, the owner/pilot made a forced landing to a field due to a loss of engine power. Examination of the airplane after the off-airport landing revealed that the gascolator screen was almost completely plugged by a flaky, shellac-type […]
VFR into IMC kills one
Aircraft: Cirrus SR20. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Moscow, Tenn. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot told employees at the airport that he was in a hurry to depart due to possible bad weather in the area. He did not file a flight plan before he took off in IFR conditions. A review of radar data […]
Takeoff with tailwind leads to loss of control
Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Ketchikan, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane told investigators that he took off from runway 29 with a slight left quartering tailwind. As the airplane accelerated, it veered to the left although he was applying full right rudder. The airplane then veered right, and the […]
Beechcraft Skipper runs out of fuel
Aircraft: Beechcraft Skipper. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Clark, S.D. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The passenger reported that the airplane’s low fuel light illuminated during the flight. She stated that they continued the flight and were circling to land on a grass runway when the airplane crashed. A witness reported seeing the airplane pass over the runway […]
Amphib flips on landing
Aircraft: Murphy Rebel. Injuries: None. Location: Hayden Lake, Idaho. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The owner of the amphibious airplane was receiving instruction from a CFI. The accident happened when the pilot was attempting to land on glassy water. According to the CFI, the pilot did not use the airplane’s checklist and the CFI did […]
Pilot’s delay leads to overrun
Aircraft: Piper Arrow. Injuries: None. Location: Mariposa, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, who was attempting to take off from a 3,300-foot runway, the airplane did not accelerate as he anticipated it would, and therefore it did not achieve adequate airspeed for take off in a timely fashion. He decided to abort the takeoff but […]