aviation accidents

The student pilot reported that during a solo soft field takeoff at the airport in Sanford, N.C., the tail of the Diamond DA-20 hit the ground. He lowered the nose, and as the airspeed increased, initiated rotation. After liftoff, the plane drifted to the left of the runway, descended, and hit the bottom of a […]

The pilot was en route to his destination when three to four miles before reaching the runway, he lost elevator authority. He used elevator trim and power settings to control pitch and descended over the runway in Englewood, Colo. He was able to level off over the runway and tried to get the airspeed to […]

The pilot reported that during the landing roll at the airport in Herington, Kansas, “all of a sudden the plane started ballooning up from a strong gust of wind, I lowered the nose of the airplane slightly as to avoid a stall.” “I was then forced back to the ground violently and once again ballooned […]

The pilot was practicing landings on Pelican Lake in Wisconsin, in his Seawind, an experimental amateur-built amphibious airplane. During the accident landing, he reported the airplane “skipped slightly about 2 feet off the water, I held attitude and let it come down again, but I accidentally let the left wing tip sponson settle onto the […]

The pilot said that during the landing roll at the airport in Aztec, N.M., he was “blinded by the sunrise coming straight down the runway.” Unable to see, he applied power to abort the landing, but the Cessna 177RG departed the runway to the left and hit shrubs. He reduced power to idle and stopped […]

The pilot reported that during the landing roll at the airport in Jackpot, Nevada, a “dust devil hit the rear” of the Piper PA-32-260, “throwing it into the right lane and sliding the airplane sideways down the runway.” The plane veered off the left side of the runway, over a dirt berm, and hit a […]

The pilot reported that he landed the Piper PA-28 at an airport near Pittsburg, Pa., and parked it to address an in-flight anomaly with his headset. He then performed a preflight inspection. Before starting the engine, he pumped the primer twice and then attempted to start the engine. Subsequently, he observed smoke emanating from the […]

The pilot of the float-equipped Helio Courier stated that after takeoff from a lake near Bethel, Alaska, about 30-50 feet above the treetops, the plane encountered a downdraft and descended uncontrolled into trees and terrain. The nearest weather reporting station was 7 nm to the north, and reported that the wind was 350° true at […]

The pilot reported that during an agricultural application flight in a Schweizer G 164 B, he was making spray passes under a power line near Paxton, Nebraska. During the last pass, the left wing hit the power line, and the plane descended and hit the ground. The pilot exited the airplane, and a post-crash fire ensued. […]