aviation accidents

An airport security camera captured the pilot getting into the Piper PA30, starting the engines, and taxiing for takeoff from Harrison, Ark. No preflight inspection was recorded. About two minutes later, the camera and witnesses saw the airplane take off and immediately enter a gradual left turn about 400 feet above the ground. The bank angle […]

The pilot was practicing taxiing in his recently purchased airplane in Sprague, Wash. While taxiing, the Kitfox unintentionally became airborne. The pilot decided that in an effort to not collide with an electric fence ahead, he would need to add full power and fly the airplane in a traffic pattern to come back and land. Despite […]

The pilot/owner was ferrying the Lancair IV from the United States to Europe, and he had installed an auxiliary fuel bladder in place of the rear seat. Before takeoff, the fuel tanks were topped off, and 60 gallons of fuel were added to the auxiliary fuel bladder. The estimated weight of the airplane during takeoff was […]

The pilot was providing airplane rides to family and friends who had assembled at a dry lakebed near El Mirage, Calif., in his American Aviation AA-1A. He completed two uneventful flights and then departed for a third flight from the lakebed. According to witnesses, he had planned to perform a low pass over the group, […]

The owner/pilot was participating in a fly-in to a backcountry airport in Big Creek, Idaho, that he had flown into once about two years before. He was the last of his group to arrive in the airport vicinity, and he reported that he was using his GPS, published guidance, and information from fellow pilots to navigate […]

The Cessna 180H had recently undergone maintenance to realign the main landing gear. During the third landing, the plane turned sharply to the left upon touchdown. The pilot attempted a go-around, but the airplane continued to veer off the runway surface, exited the runway safety area, and hit the upslope of a drainage ditch at the […]

The pilot reported that he performed several high-speed taxis on his private airstrip near Pennsboro, W.Va. After about 15 minutes, he initiated a takeoff on the 1,780-foot-long turf runway. About 100 feet above ground level, the CubCrafters CC18-180’s engine either lost all power or went to idle (the pilot could not be sure). He did state that […]

The pilot reported that during the approach to landing to a remote airstrip located within a canyon near Salmon, Idaho, the wind changed direction while he was on short final. He had selected full flaps and performed a slip to descend to the approach end of the runway, however, the Cessna 175A touched down more than halfway […]

According to a friend of the airplane’s owner, the purpose of the flight was for the owner to check out another pilot in the Liberty Aerospace XL-2. Review of uncorrelated radar data indicated that the flight departed and maneuvered in the local area for about 26 minutes before the accident occurred. One witness stated that […]