The student pilot reported that he was flying the Piper Cherokee from Oklahoma to California in pursuit of employment opportunities. During that trip, he attempted a night landing at an unattended airport in Cottonwood, Ariz., in order to refuel. During the approach he was unable to activate the runway lights via radio. He made one […]
aviation accidents
VFR into IFR kills two
The private pilot had logged 175.7 hours, including18.1 hours in the Cessna 182 prior to the crash. He obtained an abbreviated weather briefing, filed an IFR flight plan and took off on a cross-country flight to Fredericksburg, Texas. The pilot was accompanied by his wife. The purpose of the flight was to celebrate their wedding […]
Slow approach leads to fatal stall
The private pilot of the Cessna 170, 59, had logged 476.2 total flight hours, including 432.1 hours in the Cessna 170, including 3.75 hours in the previous 90 days. A friend of the pilot said he saw the Cessna 170 enter the traffic pattern at the airport in Auburn, Calif., but didn’t watch the full […]
Cub strikes power lines
The instructor pilot and a student were flying in the Piper J3-Cub near Selma N.C., when the CFI attempted to make a landing on a grass strip. During the approach the Cub collided with unmarked power lines and flipped over. The airplane came to rest on the ground upside down, resulting in minor injuries to […]
Poor planning leads to off airport landing
The owner of the Cessna 182 and a flight instructor departed on a 90-minute flight, which included multiple practice takeoffs and landings at three different airports. The flight instructor had about 5,300 hours, which included more than 500 hours in C-182s.The private pilot reported about 230 hours, including about 90 hours in C-182s. When the […]
Student pilot lands short
The student pilot was making an approach to the airport at Newcastle, Wyo., in a Cessna 172. When the airplane was about 20 feet above ground level and about 15 feet short of the approach end of the runway, it began to sink. The airplane came down hard off the runway surface. The nosewheel dug […]
First solo, first accident
The accident happened during the student pilot’s first solo flight at the airport in Ankeny, Iowa. The first landing was good, but on the second approach the airplane touched down flat and bounced several times. The post-flight inspection of the airplane revealed that one propeller blade tip was bent aft and the firewall was buckled. […]
Downdraft catches Cessna
The pilot of the Cessna 182, accompanied by two passengers, was on a scenic flight near Carson City, Nevada. The airplane was climbing southwest, and approaching 9,000 feet MSL. The pilot planned to cross a mountain saddle between 400 and 500 feet AGL. The airplane encountered a strong downdraft and the airspeed dropped to about […]
Solo pilot handpropping goes awry
The pilot of the Cessna 172RG planned to fly from Abbeville, Louisiana, but when he went to start the airplane he found the engine battery was dead. He decided to hand-prop the airplane to start the engine. He tied the tail of the airplane down via a brass snap-hook that attached to a metal fastener […]