Aircraft: Lancair 320. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Temple Bar, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, the airplane was in cruise flight at 5,500 feet MSL when he decided to descend to 3,500 feet MSL to avoid a layer of haze ahead. At 4,000 feet, the engine began to lose power. […]
aviation accidents
Hard landing bends Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 177. Injuries: None. Location: Columbia, S.C. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, he flew a normal approach, but during the landing flare, the airplane encountered a gust of wind. It came down hard and bounced. The pilot heard a “clunk!” noise, and the airplane bounced a second time before […]
Worn mags bring down Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 177RG. Injuries: None. Location: Gila Bend, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, while the airplane was in cruise flight he heard a loud noise from the engine compartment, followed by an immediate loss of engine power. He attempted to restart the engine while diverting to the nearest airport. […]
Poor go-around for student pilot
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Park Falls, Wis. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the student pilot, the airplane was on final approach when it encountered unexpected wind. The pilot decided to abort the landing. During the attempted go-around, the plane encountered a right quartering tailwind, which blew it off the runway […]
Fuel exhaustion brings down Cherokee
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: San Angelo, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on the second leg of a cross-country flight when the engine lost power. He performed a forced landing in a field. According to the FAA inspector who examined the airplane, the left fuel tank had 17 gallons […]
Lack of IFR proficiency kills four
Aircraft: Beech Baron. Injuries: Four fatal. Location: Topeka, Kan. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, who held multi-engine and instrument ratings, had logged 438 hours, including 11 hours in actual instrument conditions. However, since passing his initial instrument proficiency check on Nov. 10, 2010, he had logged just 0.7 hours of instrument […]
Overrun for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Suchez, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was intending to land on the 2,000-foot grass runway. He overflew the airstrip to check the windsock and flew an approach to the runway, but executed a go-around because the airplane was too high. He made a second approach. […]
First flight, last flight
Aircraft: STOL CH701. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Pulaski, Wis. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, 67, was the builder of the experimental, amateur-built airplane. The accident was the airplane’s first flight. It was climbing out when it veered to the left and narrowly cleared a tree line. The plane entered a steep […]
System failures lead to hard landing
Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: None. Location: Ocala, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: While in cruise flight at 8,000 feet, the airplane lost electrical power. The pilot had the airport in sight, so he did not declare an emergency He selected the landing gear handle to the down-and-locked position, but he could not recall […]