The pilot reported that he executed a normal approach for landing at the airport in Chicago. During the approach, he lowered the Piper PA-31’s landing gear and verified the extended position by checking the landing gear position indicators in the cockpit. Upon touchdown on the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and then the right […]
NTSB Accidents
Balloon ride ends with broken leg
The pilot determined that the wind was faster than anticipated at the landing location near Bernalillo, N.M. He maneuvered the Cameron Z90 balloon for a landing in an open field, the gondola landed hard, and fell onto its side. One passenger sustained a broken leg and the balloon sustained no damage. The pilot reported no […]
Student loses control during landing
The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing landings to a full stop at the airport in Kankakee, Ill. During the sixth landing, the student overcontrolled the Cessna 172 during the landing flare. The flight instructor attempted to correct the flight control inputs, however he was unable to overcome the strength of the student pilot on the flight […]
Crosswind landing goes awry
The Piper PA-46 veered off the left side of the runway in Akron, Ohio, during landing with a left gusting crosswind. The maximum demonstrated crosswind velocity for the airplane was 17 knots. The pilot said he applied right rudder and left aileron control inputs for the landing. The left main landing gear touched down first and when the right […]
Failure to use checklist ends badly
The pilot stated that prior to entering the traffic pattern at the airport in The Dalles, Oregon, he did not visually verify or confirm that the landing gear positioning lights indicated that the gear was extended and locked. After turning onto the base leg he deployed full flaps and conducted a memorized pre-landing checklist, however […]
Sightseeing flight ends in forced landing
The pilot reported that while conducting a low-level sightseeing flight near Garfield, Washington, he inadvertently collided with an unmarked power line with the Piper PA-28’s left wing. He subsequently made a precautionary landing in a field without further incident. A post-accident examination revealed substantial damage to the left wing. Probable cause: The pilot did not maintain clearance from […]
Crosswind contributes to ground loop
The pilot reported that immediately after touchdown at the airport in Carson City, California, he felt a very strong crosswind from the left that kicked the Cessna 185’s tail to the right. He then added full right rudder and full power in an attempt to go around, however, the torque and P-factor, combined with the wind […]
Twin Otters crash on runway
A de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter hit another Twin Otter on the runway at Sebastian, Florida. The pilot of the first Twin Otter reported that, once she started the engines, the airplane rolled forward and to the left 180° because the steering-tiller had been positioned sharply to the left when the airplane was last parked. She added that, […]
Pilot loses control of Autogryo
After departing from the airport where the pilot kept the Autogyro, he flew to his family farm near Crozet, Virginia, and landed without incident on a 1,500-foot-long grass polo field. Later on, during an attempted takeoff from the same field, when the gyroplane was traveling at 25 to 30 knots and was about 150 feet […]