Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Carnation, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: During a local area flight, the pilot decided to make a practice landing on a gravel bar near the middle of a river.

With limited landing distance, he decided to fly his approach at a low airspeed, with the intention of touching down at the very edge of the bar. While on short final, the airplane encountered a downdraft and its main landing gear tires touched the surface of the water, the drag of the water on the tires flipped the airplane onto its back.

Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point during a practice off-airport landing.

NTSB Identification: WPR11CA040

This November 2010 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 150. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Kenmare, N.D. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was attempting to land in a farm field, applied full flaps while on final approach [Read more...]

ircraft: Aviat A-1B. Injuries: None. Location: Heber City, Utah. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot was practicing the procedures for making approaches to backcountry remote airstrips and was flying in approach configuration about 40 to 60 feet over a mountain ridge.

[Read more...]

Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Pineville, La. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: Following the installation of an overhauled engine and the completion of an annual inspection, the pilot/mechanic who performed the work elected to fly the airplane.

[Read more...]

Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Gaithersburg, Md. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The student pilot, who was attempting to land, made the approach five knots faster than normal because of a headwind.

[Read more...]

Aircraft: American Champion 8GCBC. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Bremerton, Wash. Aircraft damage: 1 Fatal.

What reportedly happened: The pilot, 74, held an airline transport pilot certificate with an instrument rating. [Read more...]

Aircraft: Piper Arrow. Injuries: None. Location: Spring Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: Shortly after takeoff, the airplane experienced an electrical failure. [Read more...]

Aircraft: Piper Seminole. Injuries: 4 Fatal. Location: West Palm Beach, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The commercial pilot’s most recent flight in a multi-engine airplane was about one year before the accident. He had a total of 298.2 hours of which 46.7 hours were in multi-engine aircraft. He was flying with an instructor at the time of the accident.

[Read more...]

Aircraft: FlightDesign CTSW. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Fullerton, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot, who was practicing landings, aborted the first two approaches because the airplane was too high and fast. On the third landing, he descended to about 10 feet over the runway, when a gust of wind [Read more...]

Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Theodore, Ala. Aircraft damage: Destroyed.

What reportedly happened: The accident happened during a night currency flight in marginal VFR conditions. The 164-hour pilot did not file a flight plan or obtain a weather briefing prior to departure from an airport in a sparsely populated area.

[Read more...]