Aircraft: Thorp T-18. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Plainwell, Mich. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The Thorp was the second plane in a flight of two on approach to the destination. Visibility on approach was about three miles. The pilot in the first airplane stated that the Thorp pilot asked him to keep up his speed on final. […]
NTSB Accidents
Failure to use checklist bends airplane
Aircraft: American Champion Super Decathalon. Injuries: None. Location: Leesburg, Va. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot went through the normal pre-flight inspection, then attempted to start the engine. He told investigators that he set the mixture full on rich, fuel pump turned on for about three seconds, then off, mixture full off, put the throttle full […]
Mechanical failure for Glasair
Aircraft: Glasair III. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Falls of Rough, Kentucky Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to witnesses on the ground, the airplane took off and then circled back to make a fly-by over the runway. The witnesses said the engine sounded like it “over revved” and they saw what appeared to be a puff of […]
Big pilot, small cockpit a bad combo
Aircraft: Christian Eagle II. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Seward, Neb. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The flight instructor, who had 9,700 hours, was seated in the front seat giving instruction for an airplane check-out to the private pilot in the rear seat of the biplane, who had logged about 1,700 hours. The engine lost power on takeoff […]
Inadvertent spin kills 1
Aircraft: RV-6A. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: West Jordan, Utah. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The accident happened at the end of a four-hour flight. The pilot, who had an estimated 810 hours in the RV-6A, transmitted his intentions to join the traffic pattern at the airport. A short time later, an indiscernible distress transmission was made over […]
Night flight into clouds kills two
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Stanley, Idaho. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, who did not have an instrument rating, had logged 640 hours, including 520 in the 182. On the afternoon of the accident, he checked the weather, then took off. His passengers said the pilot received several in-flight weather updates and […]
Fuel starvation for Mooney
Aircraft: Mooney M20C. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Allen, Okla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross country flight with the fuel selector set to the left tank when the engine quit. He attempted to restore fuel to the engine by switching to the right tank, which contained fuel. The pilot said he was […]
Prop failure for RV
Aircraft: Vans RV-6A. Injuries: None. Location: Albany, Ore. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot noted that the propeller assembly had undergone maintenance by its manufacturer on three occasions prompted by his observation of hub grease seeping onto the shank portion of the blades. The pilot removed the propeller and hub assembly and returned it to the […]
Inadvertent braking breaks Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 140A. Injuries: None. Location: Kent, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The CFI and his student were practicing landings in a tailwheel airplane in preparation for the student’s first solo. On the fourth landing, the student inadvertently applied brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in the airplane nosing over, causing substantial damage to the […]