Aircraft: Cessna 150. Injuries: None. Location: Mansfield, Mass. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The accident happened during a training flight. According to the flight instructor, during climb out when the airplane reached 250 feet AGL, the airplane stopped climbing and began to descend. The flight instructor assumed control of the airplane and verified the position of the […]
aviation accidents
Carb icing at night for Cherokee
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Maryland Heights, Mo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: A witness, who saw the airplane approaching the airport for a night landing, remarked that the engine sounded like it was sputtering. He thought the pilot was attempting to land on the beach of a nearby lake. The airplane hit the water […]
Pilot gets behind airplane
Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Wausau, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting an instrument approach. The airport’s weather system was reporting conditions below approach minimums. The pilot chose to attempt the approach and, if necessary, execute a missed approach and hold until conditions improved. He noted the decision altitude and lowered […]
Insects bring down Tomahawk
Aircraft: Piper Tomahawk. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Corona, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: After flying for about an hour, the pilot entered the pattern to land. During the approach the engine lost power. Unable to restart the engine, or make it to the runway, he performed a forced landing into an adjacent field, where the airplane […]
Improper use of flaps by 172 pilot
The pilot’s improper use of flaps for takeoff, which resulted in the airplane’s failure to attain adequate climb airspeed and subsequent collision will trees during takeoff.
Poor go-around for Piper pilot
Aircraft: Piper Comanche. Injuries: None. Location: Lake Tahoe, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot aborted a landing due to traffic on the active runway. As part of the go-around he retracted the landing gear. On the second approach he opted to carry extra power because of gusty wind conditions, and during the landing flare, he […]
Poor power management results in hard landing
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Miami, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: A flight instructor was attempting to demonstrate short field landing technique to a student pilot. About 50 feet over the runway, at an airspeed of 60 knots, with flaps fully deployed, the CFI reduced the throttle to idle and pitched the nose down to […]
Cirrus runs out of fuel
Aircraft: Cirrus SR20. Injuries: None. Location: Parker, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: Before the first flight of the day, the pilot visually checked the airplane’s fuel quantity through the fuel tank filler necks, noting what he believed to be full tanks. He subsequently checked the fuel gauges, which indicated that both wing tanks were less than […]
Broken mag brings down Piper
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: Allentown, Pa. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: During the initial climb on an instructional flight, the engine lost partial power. The CFI performed a forced landing into a cornfield. During a subsequent test-run of the engine, the engine would lose all power if only the right magneto was selected. Laboratory examination […]