The student pilot’s failure to maintain a proper descent rate during the short field landing.
aviation accidents
First flight after annual ends in crash from fuel exhaustion
The pilot’s improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Plane crashes when brakes fail
Loss of brake pressure to both sets of brakes during taxi due to failed brake caliper O-ring seals, which resulted in a loss of directional control.
Inflight magneto check goes wrong when key breaks off in ignition
The instructor pilot’s decision to perform an inflight magneto check with no suitable area to land. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to correctly perform a magneto check that resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Failure to see and avoid results in one plane landing on top of another
The pilot of the departing airplane’s failure to see and avoid the landing airplane before takeoff, resulting in a collision with the landing airplane. Contributing was the airport’s failure to encourage pilots to use radios for traffic deconfliction when equipped.
Plane near maximum gross weight crashes after takeoff with 10° of flaps
Both pilots’ decision to perform the takeoff near maximum gross weight with 10° of flaps, contrary to the owner’s manual procedure, which resulted in the airplane’s degraded climb performance approaching high terrain.
Stuck exhaust valve leads to forced landing that injures two
The partial loss of engine power due to a stuck exhaust valve.
Pilot commits suicide by crashing into ocean
The pilot’s suicide.
Real Pilot Story: Crossed wires
In “Real Pilot Story: Crossed Wires,” commercial pilot and CFI Greg Soter reflects on an emergency landing near Birdseye, Utah, in June 2013, after discovering an electrical fire in the back of the Cessna 172 he was flying.