Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Gerlach, Nev. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was flying the airplane over a large open desert playa. The surface appeared to be flat and dry. Upon touching down, the landing gear dug into what turned out to be the about 8-inch deep soft soil. The airplane cartwheeled to […]
NTSB Accidents
Airplane collides with cow
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Roundup, Mont. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on a dirt road. He overflew the area, noting a group of cows nearby before entering a left-hand pattern. During the landing flare, the pilot saw a cow approaching from the left. He attempted to swerve to miss […]
Inaccurate fuel gauges contribute to crash
Aircraft: Fairchild M-62A-3. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Waukegan, Illinois. Aircraft damage: What reportedly happened: The pilot checked the airplane’s fuel quantity using the fuel gauges but did not perform a visual inspection of the fuel tanks or top off the tanks. He selected the right fuel tank because its gauge indicated that it was 3/4 full. During the […]
Bad bounce bends LSA
Aircraft: Aero AT-4. Injuries: None. Location: San Diego, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land. When the airplane was about 3 feet above the ground, the airplane stalled, touched down hard and bounced. The pilot applied power to abort the landing but the LSA pulled to the left. The airplane bounced a […]
Inexperienced pilot ground-loops
Aircraft: Cessna 170. Injuries: None. Location: Fairbanks, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel-equipped airplane on a gravel airstrip. During the landing roll, the airplane ground-looped to the left and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot stated that the accident could have been avoided if he had more […]
Bad bounce for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Westminister, Md. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land on the 1,840-foot runway. The plane’s airspeed was higher than recommended for a short-field landing. The airplane touched down, bounced, and floated, touched down and bounced again. After a third touchdown the pilot initiated a go-around. He returned […]
Unairworthy airplane, out of practice pilot proves fatal
Aircraft: Velocity RG. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Sanford, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 375-hour pilot had owned the airplane for seven years and in that time had flown it for a total of 24 hours. His last flight took place 18 months before the fatal accident. The airplane’s airworthiness certificate was issued in 1996. According […]
Student runs out of fuel
Aircraft: Cessna 120. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Cordele, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot was endorsed for solo flight in Cessna 120 and Cessna 150 aircraft. He also had an endorsement to make repeated solo cross-country flights. Review of the pilot’s personal flight log revealed that between Feb. 23, 2009, and the date of […]
Too rich mixture leads to poor performance
Aircraft: Cessna Cardinal. Injuries: None. Location: Rock Springs, Wyo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The elevation of the airport is 6,764 feet MSL. The density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated to be 7,907 feet. The pilot leaned the mixture to start the engine, but he did not lean the mixture prior to takeoff. […]