Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Lake Havasu, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The non-instrument-rated pilot was flying two friends home after a football game. He had flown the same route at night on four previous occasions, the most recent of which was two weeks before the accident. On both occasion the skies were clear and […]
aviation accidents
Crosswind crimps experimental airplane
Aircraft: CX4. Injuries: None. Location: San Carlos, Ariz. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot reported that, during takeoff from an asphalt runway, the tailwheel-equipped airplane experienced a gust of wind from the left. The pilot corrected for it and maintained directional control until the plane encountered a second gust of wind from the left and, despite the […]
Poor maintenance brings down Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 2 Minor. Location: Pompano Beach, Fla. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, the airplane was descending on final approach when the throttle control became stuck on idle. Attempts to restore power were unsuccessful and the pilot made a forced landing on a road. The airplane hit a lightpost. The post-accident examination […]
Student forgets to raise flaps
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Sturgis, S.D. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The accident happened while the student pilot was practicing supervised solo takeoffs and landings. The flight instructor stated that after the second solo landing, the student did not retract the airplane’s flaps before beginning the next takeoff. After takeoff, the airplane entered a half-turn […]
Showing off kills two
Aircraft: Beech Mentor. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Williston, Fla. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, a CFI, took off from a turf runway surrounded by trees. Witnesses said the airplane became airborne within a couple of hundred feet, ballooned up, then leveled off just above the runway and accelerated. When the airplane passed abeam the witnesses, […]
New book examines Hollywood star’s mysterious plane crash
Set for publication in January, Robert Matzen’s sixth book “Fireball: Carole Lombard & the Mystery of Flight 3,” will be released on the 72nd anniversary of the mysterious plane crash that killed Carole and 21 others. Five weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hollywood comedy actress Carole Lombard, wife of the world’s most […]
Pilot grabs wrong knob
Aircraft: Bellanca Cruisemaster. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Borger, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was on a cross-country flight. Twenty miles from the destination airport when airplane was at an altitude of 9,500 feet MSL, he began the landing sequence. He intended to change fuel tanks when the plane reached 5,000 feet. During the procedure the […]
Pilot selects wrong fuel tank
Aircraft: Cessna 210. Injuries: None. Location: Wolfe City, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot departed his private airstrip and was en route to a local airport to purchase fuel when the engine lost power. While trying to restart the engine, he moved the fuel selector from the left wing tank to the right wing tank and […]
Cessna pilot experiences loss of control on takeoff
Aircraft: Cessna 180. Injuries: None. Location: Norfolk, Va. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, as he started to taxi onto the runway he noticed that the airplane was difficult to turn. He thought that the tailwheel had not locked into position, so he lined up on the center line of the runway and pulled forward […]