Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Chester, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The 76-year-old private pilot was attempting to land at his home airport at night. The airport is located on the outskirts of a town, adjacent to a lake and a sparsely populated national park. The moon was low on the […]
NTSB
Spatial disorientation kills one
Aircraft: Beech Baron. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Birmingham, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot’s logbook was not recovered, therefore a precise determination of his flight experience in IFR conditions in the twin-engine airplane could not be made. According to a flight instructor, the pilot had owned the Baron for about six months […]
Pilot intentionally lands on closed runway
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 3 Minor. Location: Platinum, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: Several people saw the Cherokee fly over the field and line up to land on the closed runway. The newer runway is lighted and had been in operation for at least two years. The old runway had been repurposed and […]
Long flight ends in crash
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Walnut Grove, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot had logged approximately 405 hours, of which 340 were in a 172. Of that time, 109 hours were at night. The accident occurred during the last leg of a long VFR cross-country flight. He departed on […]
Lack of experience, poor decision turns fatal
Aircraft: Cessna 310. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor. Location: Orange, Mass. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot told investigators that he had become a pilot in 1989 and had logged about 500 hours. He had stopped flying for about seven years, then resumed about a year before the accident. The Cessna was purchased […]
Inadvertent brake application bends Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 140. Injuries: None. Location: Winnsboro, S.C. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane allowed his pilot-rated passenger to make a wheel landing. During the landing roll, the airplane drifted to the right and in response the pilot took control and attempted to correct with left rudder input. The […]
Pilot blinded by sun
Aircraft: Taylorcraft BC-12-65. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: College Place, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot departed for a short local flight. About 20 minutes later, he returned to land. The sun was low on the horizon, and as he turned onto the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, his view became […]
Headwind, poor math, result in fuel exhaustion
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Abilene, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot departed on a 615-nautical mile cross-country flight. He determined the flight would take him about four hours and 15 minutes. He had about five and a half hours of fuel on-board. He received a weather briefing before departing. During […]
Taildraggers collide on landing
Aircraft: Cessna 185A, Taylorcraft. Injuries: None. Location: Madras, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: At the time of the accident, the ceiling was broken clouds at about 6,500 feet AGL, and visibility was more than 10 miles. The Cessna and a Taylorcraft were both on approach to the same runway. The pilot of the […]