Aircraft: Luscombe 8E. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: West Bend, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to take off from a grass 1,500-foot runway. The airplane lifted off, but the pilot felt it was not climbing fast enough to clear power lines at the end of the runway, so he aborted the takeoff and […]
aviation accidents
Twin crashes after maintenance
Aircraft: Cessna 310. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Stotts City, Mo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The right engine of the twin Cessna had recently undergone extensive maintenance. The pilot and the pilot-rated passenger originally planned to make several circuits in the traffic pattern to test the right engine, then fly the airplane to a nearby airport. However, […]
Poor planning leads to off-airport landing
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Akiachak, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot departed on a flight between two remote Alaskan communities. Because of deteriorating weather conditions along the flight route, he decided to return to his home airport. During the return flight, he became concerned about his remaining fuel and diverted […]
Duck-under syndrome kills three
Aircraft: Piper Aztec. Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Charlotte Amalie, Va. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: There was no record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing before the flight or filing a flight plan. The destination airport was tower-controlled, but the tower was closed at the time of the accident. The runway was located along […]
Night flight ends in fatal crash
Aircraft: Piper Warrior. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Marana, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot had amassed an estimated 185 hours of total flight experience, of which 7.3 hours were conducted at night over sparsely populated terrain. He had flown the route twice before in the day time. The accident flight was the first time […]
Misrigged airplane crashes
Aircraft: Kitfox Super Sport. Injuries: None. Location: Twin Bridges, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot purchased the airplane from the builder approximately four months before the accident. At the time of the accident, the pilot had logged about 16 hours in the Kitfox. The accident happened when he attempted to perform a full-flap soft-field takeoff […]
Brush interferes with takeoff
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Cordova, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was departing from a tidal beach in the tailwheel airplane. During the takeoff roll into the sun he lost visual references and allowed the airplane to drift to the right. The right wingtip collided with some brush, forcing the airplane to […]
Precautionary landing goes bad
Aircraft: Swift GC-1A. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: East Moriches, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The airplane departed with an adequate supply of fuel in the main fuel tank but an unknown amount in the tip tanks. The Swift’s takeoff was witnessed by the mechanic who performed the last inspection on the airplane. The mechanic thought the […]
Wind puts Cessna in ditch
Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Seneca Falls, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot did not obtain a preflight weather briefing before departing on the local flight. At the time of departure the wind was from 270° at 9 knots. The pilot took off and remained airborne for about 1 hour 15 minutes, during which […]