Aircraft: Piper Pacer. Injuries: None. Location: Fairbanks, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on a hard surfaced runway. When the airplane was about 6 inches above the runway, a gust of wind lifted the right wing, the left main landing gear touched down hard, and the airplane veered to the left. […]
aviation accidents
Inexperience, sensitive brakes bad combo
Aircraft: Fairchild 24 C8C. Injuries: None. Location: Redmond, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot received his tailwheel endorsement in another airplane make. His total flight time in the Fairchild was about one hour. The pilot told investigators that he had difficulty controlling the airplane with the rudder and the brakes. He stated that, at times, the […]
Blocked rudder pedals lead to off-runway trip
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Abingdon, Va. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, after the airplane touched down it started to veer to the left as he began to apply the brakes. Attempts to apply right rudder were blocked because the passenger had stretched his legs out and blocked the rudder pedals. The […]
Hypoxic pilot crashes
Aircraft: Cessna T182. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Ludlow, Calif. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross-country flight in night visual meteorological conditions and requested flight following from air traffic control. According to radar data, about 11 minutes after takeoff, the airplane leveled off at 14,800 feet MSL. About 30 minutes later, when the plane […]
Distraction leads to crash
Aircraft: Zodiac CH 601XL. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Belmont, Ohio. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot had previously flown the experimental, amateur-built airplane cross-country to a potential buyer but the sale was not completed and the airplane did not fly for several months until arrangements could be made to return the airplane. The accident happened when […]
Bad fuel management for Baron
Aircraft: Beech Baron. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Broken Bow, Neb. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot stated that the airplane was fully fueled before departure. The fuel system was composed of two 37-gallon main fuel tanks and two 31-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks. The pilot stated he had not used any of the fuel in […]
Departure stall kills one
Aircraft: Avid Flyer MK4. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Waxhaw, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to several eyewitnesses who were pilots, the pilot of the airplane initiated a go-around about 30 feet above ground level. The airplane had about a 30° nose-up attitude at first, then the pitch attitude increased. When the plane was at treetop […]
Gusty wind leads to bad bounce
Aircraft: Allegro. Injuries: None. Location: Groveland, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land in a gusting, quartering tailwind. The airplane bounced three times. After the third bounce, he added power to perform a go-around. During the go-around, the wind blew the plane to the left of the runway, where it crashed in […]
Poor fuel management by Piper pilot
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Margaret, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot and passenger departed on a local flight. The airplane was in cruise flight, about 1,000 feet AGL, when the engine lost power. Attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. The pilot made an emergency landing on a road, and the airplane […]