Officials with the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) sent a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) offering AMA’s more than 80 years of experience in the investigation of any potential incident involving a manned and unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In the letter, AMA President Rich Hanson writes: “The recent potential incidents involving manned […]
NTSB
Excessive temperatures damage Lancair’s turbocharger
The airline transport pilot was departing in the experimental, amateur-built Lancair ES. During the initial climb, the engine experienced a partial loss of power. The pilot performed a precautionary landing on a taxiway at the airport in Prescott, Arizona, during which the airplane departed the paved surface and the nose landing gear collapsed. Post-accident examination of the […]
Pre-buy inspection ends in crash
The non-certificated pilot/owner of the Piper PA22-108 was conducting a local test flight with a prospective buyer, who held a private pilot certificate. After exiting the traffic area at the airport in Lincolnton, N.C., and climbing to an altitude of 1,800′, the owner permitted the prospective buyer to manipulate the flight controls. The pilot then […]
Fuel starvation leads to forced landing
During cruise flight in the experimental, amateur-built Mustang II, the private pilot attempted to move the fuel selector from the left to the right fuel tank. During that process, the engine lost power, and the airplane sustained substantial damage during the subsequent forced landing near Normangee, Texas. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash. […]
Wrong part brings down 150
During the cross-country flight, the Cessna 150’s engine experienced a total loss of power and the student pilot performed a forced landing to a field near Simmesport, Louisiana. The airplane nosed over during the landing and came to rest inverted. An examination of the engine revealed that the incorrect bearing and thrust washer had been […]
Cessna 175 hits airport fence
According to the pilot, during approach to the airport in Gold Beach, Oregon, the Cessna 175 encountered a wind gust and the landing gear hit the top of the airport’s perimeter fence. The airplane flipped over and slid to a stop. According to the airport facility directory, the fence was in excess of 200′ from […]
RV-7 lands on airpark road instead of runway
The private pilot was landing the experimental, amateur-built RV-7 at a residential airpark in Tavernier, Florida. Immediately following the accident, a state trooper interviewed the pilot, who said the landing was his first one at the residential airpark and that he thought that the side road was the runway. The airplane struck three mailboxes, a […]
152 pilot hits snow berm on landing
The pilot reported that on his second landing he felt a “small” impact just before touchdown, and then the Cessna 152 pitched down and skidded to a stop at the airport in Shirley, N.Y. After the airplane came to a stop, he observed smoke coming from the lower left side of the cowling just forward […]
Spatial disorientation fatal for two
The private pilot was flying along a shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico in dark night conditions, with a tailwind, on an extended left base leg for landing at the airport in Destin, Florida. Witnesses reported the pilot announced a go-around on the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Radar track data depicted the Piper […]