Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain altitude and airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude.
Fuel contamination brings down Yak 52
Probable cause: A partial loss of engine power due to contaminants in the fuel system that decreased the fuel flow, the source of which could not be determined.
Short field takeoff goes awry
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper pretakeoff planning, his failure to maintain adequate airspeed, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a short-field takeoff with a tailwind, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Bird strike bends Beech 99
Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a bird during the approach.
Formation flight ends in fatal accident
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control following a descent into clouds.
Pilot’s complacency blamed for gear-up landing
Probable cause: The pilot’s complacency during the en route phase of flight, which resulted in fuel mismanagement and a subsequent gear-up landing.
Bellanca bent when ski hits frozen sand berm
Probable cause: The airplane’s left main ski’s collision with a submerged frozen sand berm.
Maintenance error bends Piper
Probable cause: Maintenance personnel’s improper securing of an unused instrument lamp socket during recent maintenance, which resulted in an electrical short of the landing gear controls and stopped the landing gear while it was transitioning to the down position and led to the landing gear collapse.
First flight after restoration fatal for pilot
Probable cause: The incorrect rigging of the elevator control cables, which resulted in a reversal of elevator control inputs applied by the pilot during the takeoff, an excessive nose-high pitch, and subsequent aerodynamic stall after takeoff. Also causal was the inadequate postmaintenance inspection and the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection and before takeoff check, which failed to detect the misrigging.