The pilot of the RV-8 called the destination airport in Cortland, Ohio, to check on the condition of the turf runway. No concerns were noted. The pilot said that the flight and touch down were normal but, during the landing roll, the airplane encountered a soft spot in the runway and nosed over, coming to […]
aviation accidents
Soft field takeoff demo goes bad
The accident happened during an instructional flight in a Piper Cherokee. The CFI was attempting to demonstrate a soft field departure. The CFI taxied to a grass runway and instructed the student pilot to do the takeoff. The student advanced the throttle. The airplane achieved full power and about half way down the runway reached […]
Cessna strikes wire during landing on road
The pilot was flying the Cessna 172 near Thief River Falls, Minn., when he noted that the air was getting a little choppy and that he had to increase the wind correction angle in order to fly the appropriate heading. He flew a normal downwind approach to the north-south airstrip, but the wind correction angle […]
Student botches go-around
The Piper Cherokee was being flown by a student pilot near Jacksonville, N.C. The student left the airport to do some air work, then returned for landing. During final approach to the runway, the airplane drifted to the left. The left main landing gear was off the pavement at touch down, and the airplane pivoted […]
Cessna runs out of fuel on final
The Cessna 210 was on the base leg of the traffic pattern to Wenatchee, Wash., when the engine suddenly lost power. It landed hard in a nose-high attitude, and the tail cone struck the runway, resulting in damage to the aft bulkhead and lower fuselage stringer. None of the five people on board were injured. […]
Crosswind catches Tri Pacer
The pilot of the Piper Tri Pacer was attempting to land on Runway 34 at Pella, Iowa, while the wind was from 290° at 7 knots, resulting in a 50° crosswind. He used a crosswind landing technique of using left aileron input and right rudder input at touchdown. Shortly after touching down, the right wing […]
Poor fuel management by Beech pilot
The pilot of the Beech Bonanza was on a cross-country flight that was supposed to take one hour and 50 minutes. At the start there were about 30 gallons of fuel in each wing tank, of which 27 gallons were usable fuel per side, which should have been enough fuel for the length of flight. […]
Banner brings down tow pilot
The pilot of the Cessna 172 was working as a banner tow pilot in New Orleans. The airplane was rigged with a grapple hook assembly. The procedure called for the pilot to capture the advertising banner with the hook, then initiate a steep climb. According to the pilot, on the first pass he missed picking up […]
Ercoupe loses propeller in flight
Approximately 40 hours before the accident the airplane had gone in for maintenance. The owner stated that the crankshaft oil seal was replaced due to an oil leak. He did not recall seeing a cotter pin ever installed on the hub nut, noting instead the use of a cadmium plated bolt and “Nyloc” nut. The […]