The flight instructor was performing an introductory flight lesson for a student with her parents on board as passengers. Rather than fly in the normal practice area, the flight instructor and student decided to fly across a channel toward an adjacent island to avoid unfavorable weather conditions. The student flew the majority of the flight following the […]
NTSB Accidents
Sunlight blinds Bushmaster pilot
The pilot was taking off in a southerly direction from a narrow, tree-lined airstrip in Newburg, Oregon. During the takeoff roll, sunlight restricted his visibility. The Alaskan Bushmaster drifted left and subsequently came into contact with numerous juvenile fir trees along the side of the runway. The contact with the trees resulted in substantial leading edge damage […]
Fuel exhaustion brings down 310
The pilot reported the Cessna 310 was at 8,000 feet mean sea level when it ran out of fuel. He executed a forced landing to a field near Rothville, Missouri, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning and fuel management, which resulted in fuel […]
Inadequate flare leads to hard landing
The pilot was on a straight-in approach for landing at the airport in Hanford, California. During touchdown the Flight Design CTLS landed hard and bounced. The pilot attempted to land the plane for the second time, however the airplanes nose dropped, resulting in a second bounce. He made a decision to go around and added power. During […]
RV-7 crashes into lake
A witness located near the accident site in Seabeck, Washington, reported observing an airplane “spinning out of control” as it descended toward the water and breaking apart as it descended out of sight behind a stand of trees. Some wreckage debris consistent with the RV-7 was found floating on the water’s surface, however, the majority of the wreckage […]
Flight over lake fatal
The student pilot contacted a friend who was in a fishing boat and told him he was going to fly over the lake in Kingston, Oklahoma. The friend then saw the RV-9A circle over his fishing boat, which was a prearranged signal by the student pilot to notify the friend to drive his fishing boat towards […]
Fuel exhaustion brings down 182
The pilot reported that before departing on the cross-country flight, he determined by visual inspection that the fuel level was about 1/2-inch below the top of the filler neck on each wing fuel tank. While established in cruise flight, after about four hours of flight, the Cessna 182 experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot […]
Ice brings down Diamond
The student pilot reported that he was practicing solo ground reference maneuvers about 1,600 feet above ground level when the Diamond DA-20’s engine began operating erratically. He added the airplane might have entered an aerodynamic stall. He advanced the throttle to full forward, but the engine did not respond and subsequently experienced a total loss of […]
First solo goes awry
The student pilot was attempting to land at the airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after his first solo flight. He thought his airspeed was high. The Cessna 152 landed hard and bounced three times, which resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear. The nose of the airplane and the left wing hit the runway. A post-accident examination […]





