The two shattered links of the accident chain were not adjacent, as they so often are. The first came during an otherwise diligent preflight. The second was a skipped memory item from the emergency checklist that, otherwise, would have saved the day.
aviation accidents
Corroded aileron cable proves fatal for CFI and student
Probable Cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to detect the corroded aileron cable during recent inspections, which resulted in the separation of the aileron control cable and a subsequent loss of airplane control during takeoff.
New accident case study: Fair Weather Flier
“This is an accident type we see all too often,” said AOPA’s ASI Senior Vice President Mike Ginter. “The pilot flew into clearly deteriorating weather conditions, untrained and unprepared to deal with them.”
Failure to apply carb heat leads to forced landing in river
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to apply carburetor heat before initiating a descent in conditions conducive to the development of carburetor icing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power due to carburetor ice.
Failure to apply carb heat bends Piper
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to apply carburetor heat during the landing approach, which resulted in a loss of engine power from carburetor ice.
Air show star Rob Holland dies in aircraft accident
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I am sharing that Rob Holland lost his life today, 24 April 2025, in an accident at Langley AFB, VA. The cause of the crash is not known at this time, and is under investigation by the FAA, NTSB, and DOD.”
First flight in new plane goes awry
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing in a gusting crosswind.
First flight after annual ends in crash
Probable Cause: Failure of the down limit and down indicator switch and the warning horn switch assemblies, which prevented the landing gear from extending and at the same time providing a false indication that the landing gear was extended.
Disconnected electronic ignition system contributes to crash
Probable Cause: The engine electronic ignition system became disconnected, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.