Pilot flies with known oil leak

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 16, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: RV-6. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Paulden, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The post-accident examination revealed oil along the bottom side of the fuselage and on the tailwheel. A friend of the pilot, who was also an aircraft mechanic, reported that prior to the accident flight he and the pilot found an oil leak originating from a stainless steel high-pressure oil line from the propeller governor to the forward area of the engine crankcase. Continue Reading »

Airplane catches fire on landing

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 15, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: Sanford, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The student pilot, who was flying with a CFI, intended to make a stop-and-go landing. He used maximum wheel and aerodynamic braking to stop the airplane. After coming to a stop, both pilots realized that the engine had stopped running. Continue Reading »

Open door distracts pilot

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 14, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Cirrus SR22. Injuries: None. Location: Gaithersburg, Md. Aircraft damage: Substantial

What reportedly happened: The pilot, who had logged 327 hours, including 161 in a Cirrus, had about seven hours of actual instrument time and 63 hours simulated instrument experience. Weather at the time of the accident included a visibility of two miles and overcast clouds at 400 feet. The airplane took off on an IFR flight. As the Cirrus entered clouds about 700 to 1,000 feet MSL, the passenger door opened two to three inches, Continue Reading »

Snow-covered runway makes for bad landing

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 13, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Piper Navajo. Injuries: None. Location: Buckland, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The commercial pilot was attempting to land on the snow-covered runway. He applied the brakes but the airplane did not slow. It was about 500 feet from the departure end of the runway when the pilot realized that stopping was going to be a problem, but he elected not to abort the landing. Continue Reading »

Alcohol, poor weather factors in crash

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 10, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Grumman Yankee. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Golden, N.M. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The private pilot and passenger were commuting to work by air in the dark. Relatives stated that the pilot was familiar with the route of flight. The airplane was not equipped to fly in instrument weather conditions and there was no evidence found indicating the pilot had obtained a weather briefing prior to takeoff. Continue Reading »

Failure to lean mixture, headwinds bad combination

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 9, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: Firebaugh, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot took off with about 45 gallons of fuel onboard. She initiated a climb to 10,500 feet, and turned on course to fly directly to the destination airport. About three and a half hours into the flight, she checked the fuel gauges, and estimated there was enough fuel remaining for about one hour, 10 minutes of flight. About 15 minutes later the engine lost power. Continue Reading »

VFR into IMC kills three

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 8, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Carrollton, Ga. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The pilot had logged 168 hours, including about 70 hours as pilot-in-command, and 3.2 hours logged of simulated instrument time. He did not have any time in actual meteorological conditions or an instrument rating.

The pilot and two passengers departed under visual meteorological conditions. A witness near the accident site stated she heard a high-speed sound followed by a “thud.” Continue Reading »

Sealant contributes to fatal accident

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 7, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Stewart P-51. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Ocala, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The 80-year-old pilot, who had logged  13,917 hours, also held a mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings. According to several people who knew the pilot, he was a former test pilot on the North American P-51 airplane. He had purchased the disassembled experimental amateur-built airplane from its builder six years earlier. He was attempting to reassemble the airplane, and spent several months attempting to resolve fuel leaks in the airplane’s integral wing tanks. Continue Reading »

Solo flight ends in bounce

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 6, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Cessna 152. Injuries: None. Location: Crystal River, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The student pilot was on the second leg of her first solo cross-country flight. The approach was normal, but the airplane bounced during landing. It went off the runway and the nose gear collapsed. Continue Reading »

Night flight ends with a bang

Meg Godlewski | Accident Reports | March 3, 2011

This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Cleveland, Miss. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot and a CFI were on an instructional night flight.  As the pilot began the descent 10 to 12 miles northeast of the airport, there was a loud bang and the airplane shook.

Continue Reading »