Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Suchez, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was intending to land on the 2,000-foot grass runway. He overflew the airstrip to check the windsock and flew an approach to the runway, but executed a go-around because the airplane was too high. He made a second approach. […]
NTSB Accidents
First flight, last flight
Aircraft: STOL CH701. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Pulaski, Wis. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, 67, was the builder of the experimental, amateur-built airplane. The accident was the airplane’s first flight. It was climbing out when it veered to the left and narrowly cleared a tree line. The plane entered a steep […]
System failures lead to hard landing
Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: None. Location: Ocala, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: While in cruise flight at 8,000 feet, the airplane lost electrical power. The pilot had the airport in sight, so he did not declare an emergency He selected the landing gear handle to the down-and-locked position, but he could not recall […]
Lack of training, altitude kills two
Aircraft: Christen Eagle II. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: San Angelo, Texas. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to an aerobatic flight instructor, the commercial pilot, who had logged 606 hours, had received 0.9 hours of dual aerobatic instruction from him in a Pitts S-2B airplane in 2009. No additional aerobatic instruction was noted in […]
Alcohol and IMC bad combination
Aircraft: Cessna 310. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: McComb, Miss. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 3,500-hour pilot, age 52, and two passengers arrived at the airport about 3:20 a.m. after going to a bar. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing or file an instrument flight rules flight plan. IFR conditions prevailed at […]
Crosswind compromises Cirrus
Aircraft: Cirrus SR22. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: South Bend, Ind. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land in winds from 300° at 15 knots with gusts to 24 knots. A witness on the ground stated that the airplane was being “bounced around” by the wind gusts and that it “stalled […]
Hard landing injures three
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 3 Serious. Location: Ridgely, Maryland. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: A CFI and two commercial pilots departed on a training flight to practice maneuvers in preparation for the commercial pilots’ CFI practical tests. The pilot receiving instruction entered the traffic pattern and configured the plane to perform a power-off approach […]
Engine failure on takeoff kills two
Aircraft: Lancair 360. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Chesapeake, Va. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was taking his sister on a short flight. According to witnesses on the ground, the airplane took off and was beyond the departure end of the runway at an altitude of about 200 to 300 feet when the […]
Nose gear fails on Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 310. Injuries: None. Location: Sanford, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: A flight instructor and private pilot were performing touch-and-go landings. While retracting the landing gear, they heard a loud bang. The gear-up light illuminated, indicating that all three landing gears were retracted and the gear doors were closed. The instructor concluded […]