Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Owls Head, Maine. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to takeoff at night and collided with a private ground vehicle that was crossing the runway. The impact tore off the airplane’s right elevator. The pilot continued with the takeoff, then turned to the left. Witnesses said the […]
aviation accidents
Early morning flight ends fatally
Aircraft: Grumman Yankee Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Morgan, Utah. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: A witness reported that the airplane took off just before sunrise and that the engine sounded normal. However, during climb-out the airplane collided with rising terrain about three miles from the airport and about 776 feet above field elevation. A post-accident examination revealed […]
Wrong hose contributes to accident
Aircraft: Cessna 172RG. Injuries: None. Location: Lexington, Ky. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: Upon arrival at the destination airport during an instructional flight, the landing gear did not fully deploy. Only the nose gear and the left main landing gear extended and locked in the down position. Both pilots reported they attempted to retract the landing gear, […]
Inadequate inspection leads to fatal crash
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Six. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Jackson, Miss. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The airplane had been stored in a hangar with its fuel tanks half full under varying temperature conditions. The accident flight was the first time in two months the plane had flown. On the day of the accident, the pilot had planned […]
Tailwind landing goes bad
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: San Antonio, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, as he touched down he felt turbulence and tailwind. He applied the brakes. When he realized that he was running out of runway, he applied the brakes harder but couldn’t stop the airplane before he ran out of runway […]
Extended slip kills engine
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Jasper, Ga. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was attempting to land to refuel during a cross-country flight, switched the fuel selector from the right tank which, according to the fuel gauge contained 1/4 tank of fuel, to the left tank which, according to the fuel gauge, showed between […]
Cable failure brings down airplane
Aircraft: Rans S12-XL. Injuries: None. Location: Gordon, Ala. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot reported that the takeoff was normal, but as he accelerated to cruise airspeed the elevator suddenly began to flutter violently, shaking the airplane. He reduced airspeed, but the elevator continued to flutter. The control column was moving rapidly forward and aft about […]
Accelerated stall kills Piper pilot
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Anadarko, Okla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: According to a witness, the pilot’s first attempt to land resulted in the airplane bouncing. He did a go-around and entered the traffic pattern to land again. According to witnesses on the ground, when the airplane turned from the base leg to final, […]
Hard landing tears airplane
Aircraft: Remox GX. Injuries: None. Location: Sacramento, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings. During the first landing, the airplane landed hard and bounced. The student performed a second touch-and-go landing, then noticed that the airplane “did not feel right.” The student made a third landing to a full stop. The […]