Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Arrow. Injuries: None. Location: Everett, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, who had logged 269 hours, including 90 in a Piper Cherokee Arrow, had recently failed the practical flight test for his commercial pilot certificate and was flying with a CFI to re-qualify for another practical test. The two flew a […]
NTSB Accidents
Pilot comes up short of runway
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Delta Junction, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel-equipped airplane on a rough and uneven, brush-covered airstrip. Before beginning the approach, he determined the wind direction and selected a touchdown point. After landing, the right main tire dropped into a hole and the […]
Pre-purchase flight ends with crash
Aircraft: Socata TB 10. Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Shirley, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The flight was a pre-purchase demonstration of the airplane. The buyer intended to examine and photograph the maintenance records, then fly the airplane around the airport traffic pattern with the owner. However, the owner insisted they fly the airplane before […]
Too much brake for Bellanca
Aircraft: Bellanca 7GCBC. Injuries: None. Location: Sidney, Neb. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, during the landing rollout as the airplane slowed, it started veering to the right. He applied left rudder and left brake to correct the problem. The tail came up, the propeller struck the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The […]
Low altitude loss of power kills one
Aircraft: Folke-Wolf-190 ½ Scale. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Columbus, Ga. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, 71, had logged about 13,000 hours. He was flying the pattern at a tower controlled airport. After conducting a touch-and-go landing on Runway 24, he advised the controller that he had a partial loss of engine power and intended to […]
Bounced landing for Tri-Pacer
Aircraft: Piper Tri-Pacer. Injuries: None. Location: Napa, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane touched down in a slight crab, bounced and went off the runway. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations were found during the investigation. Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing […]
Gusty winds get Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Upland, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane touched down on the centerline, but during the rollout veered to the right. The pilot was able to correct back to the centerline, then a wind gust from the right caused the right wing to lift, which resulted in the airplane tracking […]
First flight, bad flight
Aircraft: Midget Mustang. Injuries: None. Location: Erie, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The flight was the new owner’s first flight in the airplane. He said the wind was calm when he lined up for takeoff, but as he started the takeoff roll, a left quartering wind blew the airplane off the runway and into a ditch where […]
Go around goes bad
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Six. Injuries: None. Location: Palo Pinto, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The accident happened during an attempted go-around. The airplane drifted off the centerline and into trees off to the side of the runway. The pilot told investigators that the airplane was close to stall speed during the go-around, and would not climb. […]