Aircraft: Globe Swift. Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Ewell, M. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot stated that the fuel tanks were filled prior to departure. The airplane was equipped with main and auxiliary fuel tanks that held 26 and nine gallons of fuel, respectively. The engine burned about nine gallons of fuel per hour. […]
aviation accidents
Poor fuel management for Mooney
Aircraft: Mooney M20. Injuries: 1 Serious. Location: Ridgefield, Conn. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot told investigators that he did a preflight inspection, including a visual check of the fuel quantity. The fuel gauges indicated half tanks, which corresponded with 14 to 19 gallons in each side. It took two attempts to start the engine. The […]
Strong crosswind crunches wing
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Grangeville, Idaho. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot said the landing was normal, but during the rollout the wind shifted and gusted up to 17 knots. As he turned the airplane off the runway, he did not increase engine power or use the brakes to maintain control, and the […]
Go-around gets ugly
Aircraft: Mooney M20K. Injuries: None. Location: Anderson, S.C. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, the landing was normal but during the rollout, when the airplane was about halfway down the runway, the wind shifted to a strong tailwind, which lifted up the tail. The airplane veered to the left. The pilot applied full power […]
Flat tire compromises landing
Aircraft: Glasair III. Injuries: None. Location: Kanab, Utah. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, he felt a vibration upon landing, followed by the airplane pulling to the left. He added right brake in an attempt to regain control of the airplane, but it continued to the left and went off the side of the […]
Poor performance, short flight
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Buena Vista, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane lifted off at a little over 60 knots and was initially sluggish to climb, so the pilot lowered the nose to gain more speed in ground effect. The airplane accelerated to about 70 knots and started to gain some altitude, […]
Ground loop for Piper
Aircraft: Piper Clipper. Injuries: None. Location: Muskegan, Mich. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was accompanied by a flight instructor. During the attempted takeoff, the tailwheel-equipped airplane veered and ground looped toward the right, then nosed over. The pilot stated that he did not apply left rudder soon enough to avoid the loss of directional control. […]
Tailwheel trouble for Champ
Aircraft: Aeronca Champ. Injuries: None. Location: Valparasio, Indiana. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: As the airplane touched down it veered to the right and went off the runway into a ditch. The main landing gear collapsed. No defects were found with the airplane’s brake system. However, photographic evidence of skid marks showed that the tailwheel experienced shimmy […]
Soft field landing goes badly
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Gerlach, Nev. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was flying the airplane over a large open desert playa. The surface appeared to be flat and dry. Upon touching down, the landing gear dug into what turned out to be the about 8-inch deep soft soil. The airplane cartwheeled to […]