The pilot of the Cessna 172 was attempting to land near Okeechobee, Fla. He engaged one notch of flaps and applied brakes and full power to initiate a short-field takeoff from a dirt road. Shortly after takeoff, a gust of wind struck the airplane, and it subsequently turned left. The nose hit a barbed wire […]
aviation accidents
Bellanca pilot loses control on landing
The pilot of the Bellanca 7ECA reported that after touchdown in the tail wheel-equipped airplane in Santa Paula, Calif., the airplane began to veer to the left, He applied right rudder and right brake but was unable to keep the airplane on the runway. The airplane departed the side of the runway and subsequently hit […]
Low pass results in crash
According to the passenger, the pilot of the Super Cub was making a second low pass over friends just before the accident in Sterling, Alaska. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying very slowly, about 300 feet above the ground, with the engine at a low power setting. The right wing dipped, and it subsequently entered […]
Pilot ditches in river
The pilot, who was flying a Rans S-5 Coyote over desert near Lake Pleasant, Ariz., had been in cruise flight for about 30 minutes when he advanced the throttle to increase airspeed. The engine power unexpectedly dropped to idle. The pilot restarted the engine and discovered it would only operate at idle power before it quit. The […]
Poor flare leads to bounced landing
The pilot was attempting to land the Luscombe 8 in Elkhart, Indiana. The airplane touched down on the left main landing gear and bounced. He attempted to recover from the bounce by reducing pitch so that the main landing gear wheels would touch down simultaneously, but he inadvertently applied too much pitch control and simultaneously […]
Porpoise catches pilot by surprise
The pilot of a Mooney M20J was attempting to land in Warsaw, Indiana. He told investigators that during the downwind leg of the traffic pattern he did not compensate for winds pushing the airplane toward the runway and, as a result, he overshot the turn to final. The Mooney was not aligned with the runway when […]
Carb ice blamed for off-airport landing
The student pilot was on his first solo cross-country flight in a Cessna 150 near Matlock, Wash., when the weather started to deteriorate. He descended to a lower altitude to avoid clouds and proceeded toward the nearest airport. When he tried to level off at the lower altitude, the airplane continued to descend at a rate […]
Accidental trim activation leads to accident
The private pilot and a CFI were on an instructional flight in a Cessna 172 near Peoria, Illinois. The airplane was equipped with an electric trim activation switch on the yoke. According to the private pilot, during the takeoff shortly after rotation, the nose pitched downward and the plane bounced on the runway. The CFI took […]
CFI misjudges fuel onboard
A CFI and private pilot were attempting to do a two-leg cross-country flight in a Cirrus SR20. Before takeoff from Danbury, Conn., the CFI used a flashlight to look in the fuel tanks and determined they contained 25 gallons of usable fuel, and that the flight would require 23.3 gallons of fuel. He then entered 22 gallons […]