Aircraft: Vans RV-12. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Windom, Nev. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot reported that he inadvertently did not secure the canopy latch after entering the cockpit. After takeoff, he noticed air entering the cockpit from the unsecured canopy. He stated that he was distracted with attempting to secure the canopy and the airplane […]
NTSB Accidents
Spatial disorientation kills one
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Provincetown, Mass. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot took off on a dark night from an airport located at the tip of a peninsula. Analysis of GPS data showed that he turned the airplane toward the destination course before it had reached an altitude of 100 […]
Poor fuel management for Beech pilot
Aircraft: Beech A36. Injuries: 3 Minor. Location: Napa, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on final approach about 1.5 miles from the runway when the engine suddenly lost power. Attempts to restore engine power were unsuccessful and the pilot made a gear-up landing on a nearby highway. During the landing, the airplane hit a […]
Poor approach for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna T210M. Injuries: None. Location: Kremmling, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: During the approach to runway 27, the pilot maintained the airspeed between 100 and 110 knots to compensate for the gusting wind. He reported that the wind at the time of the accident was from 190° at 10 knots, gusting to 18 knots. Upon […]
Stearman compromised by density altitude
Aircraft: Boeing PT-17. Injuries: 2 Serious. Location: Fabens, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: During the takeoff roll, the pilot noticed the engine was developing 100 to 200 rpm less than expected. He continued with the takeoff. During the climb, he was unable to maintain a safe airspeed. When the plane was about 100 feet above the […]
Wind-shift crimps Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Stillwater, Okla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting a wheel-landing in the tailwheel airplane. The main wheels touched down first but before he was able to get the tailwheel down, the airplane started to weathervane and swerved hard to the right. The wing hit the runway, and the […]
Tailwind takeoff kills four
Aircraft: Cessna P210. Injuries: 4 Fatal. Location: Burley, Idaho. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot attempted to takeoff with a tailwind of about 6 to 10 knots on what was described as a “high density altitude” day. The airplane was loaded at, or very near to, its maximum allowable takeoff weight. Witnesses on the ground watched […]
Heavy airplane, density altitude bad combo
Aircraft: Cessna 206. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Arcadia, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated to be about 2,300 feet. The pilot, who was attempting a water takeoff, used 10° of flaps to get the airplane off the water. It climbed to about 400 feet but would […]
Lack of airmanship kills two
Aircraft: Maule M-7-235. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Warrenton, Va. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The commercial pilot had logged approximately 1,066 hours, but his time in the Maule could not be determined. According to a CFI who had flown with him on several occasions, the pilot performed turns in the traffic pattern at 45°of […]