According to the pilot, during his approach at a non-towered airport in Big Bear, California, at night, he made the descent to what he thought was the runway, but realized it was actually the taxiway. He “slipped” right to what he perceived to be the runway. Upon Tailwind W8 ground looped and nosed over. The […]
NTSB Accidents
Repeated maintenance errors lead to landing gear failure
The airline transport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. He reported he configured the Cessna 340A to land at his destination airport in Bakersfield, California. However, during his instrument panel scan, he observed a warning light indicating that the right main landing gear (MLG) was not locked in the extended position. He departed the […]
Unexplained fuel exhaustion leads to forced landing
The commercial pilot reported that, during a post-maintenance test flight, the Piper PA31’s right engine surged and then behaved consistent with a fuel flow issue. The right engine subsequently lost power, and the pilot prepared to return to the airport. However, before he could secure the right engine, the left engine started to surge and […]
Distracted pilot fails to lower landing gear
The pilot reported that while entering the traffic pattern at the airport in Venice, Florida, for landing, he was distracted by approximately eight other airplanes already in the traffic pattern. He subsequently forgot to extend the landing gear and landed with the gear retracted. The Cessna 210 came to rest upright on the runway. Examination […]
Buzzard hits 182
The pilot reported that while performing aerial observation along a pipeline in a Cessna 182, he spotted a buzzard about 200′ ahead of the airplane. He attempted to turn left to avoid the buzzard, but the bird changed its course and struck the right wing. The pilot landed without further incident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A […]
Running out of fuel fatal for 172 pilot
The private pilot and one passenger departed on the approximate 35-minute personal flight with an unknown quantity of fuel onboard the Cessna 172. Later that evening, they departed to return to their home airport in night visual meteorological conditions without adding additional fuel during their stop. While on final approach to their home airport in […]
Failure to cycle deice boots leads to stall
The airline transport pilot reported that the accident flight was the Cessna 441’s first flight after a phase maintenance check, and that he was repositioning the airplane to an airport about 40 nautical miles away. While en route, the plane experienced a series of avionics and fuel-related anomalies. He eventually declared an emergency and was […]
ILS approach in night IMC overwhelms Piper pilot
The commercial pilot and his wife departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight to their home airport. About 46 nautical miles from the destination airport, the pilot requested an instrument flight rules clearance and was subsequently cleared for an instrument landing system (ILS) approach at the destination airport. GPS data indicated that the Piper […]
Ice contributes to SR22’s fatal stall
The airline transport pilot was repositioning the Cirrus SR22 to its home base after maintenance was completed at a repair station. He filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with a cruise altitude of 9,000′ mean sea level (msl). The en route portion of the flight to the destination was uneventful. Before descending to […]