WASHINGTON, D.C. — Did you know that an aspiring pilot is less likely to have an accident while training than after earning a pilot certificate? Nevertheless, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board say they’ve developed an understanding of when and how training accidents are likely to occur, both through its own investigations and through industry […]
NTSB
Experimental airplane bent by crosswind
The pilot of the Harmon Rocket was attempting to land at South Lake Tahoe airport. He contacted UNICOM as he approached the airport and was told that the gusting wind of 10 to 15 knots favored the southern runway and that there was a crosswind from the right. The first attempt to land resulted in […]
RV balloons on landing
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, was attempting to land the RV-7A at an airport in Altoona, Pa. He maintained 80 mph on final approach and slowed to 70 mph at touchdown. Upon touchdown on the main landing gear, a wind gust occurred, and the airplane ballooned, then came down hard on the nose landing […]
Failure to obey AD leads to mismanagement of fuel
The owner of the airplane was a commercial pilot, however according to the flight instructor he flew with, he had a medical condition for which his insurance carrier required him to fly with a CFI. During the preflight inspection, the pilot/owner of the Beech Musketeer observed about 20 gallons of fuel in the left main […]
Pilot’s foot slips on landing
According to the pilot, he landed the Luscombe 8A on the runway in Orangeburg, S.C., when his foot slipped off the right rudder pedal, resulting in a swerve to the left. He applied wheel brakes to slow the plane, then increased the pressure, fearing the Luscombe would hit a pond at the end of the […]
Wrong POH, fuel exhaustion bring down Pipistrel
The airline transport pilot, 64, who had logged more than 24,000 hours, volunteered to deliver the Pipistrel Alpha trainer from an airport in Indiana to a maintenance facility. He made the arrangements for the flight, including preflight planning. A commercial pilot, 22, who had logged 388 hours, chose to ride along to gain flight experience and […]
Off-runway takeoff damages Cessna
The pilot of the Cessna 180 attempted to takeoff from the grass area between the taxiway and runway at Nervino, Calif. The plane was equipped with large bush wheels. During the takeoff roll, a rock was thrown up by the wheels and it struck the left horizontal stabilizer, which resulted in substantial damage. The pilot […]
Contaminated fuel leads to forced landing
The pilot of the Cub Crafters CCK was on approach to landing at an airport in Cookson, Okla., when the engine lost power. His attempt to restart the engine were unsuccessful, and he lacked enough altitude to glide to the runway, so he attempted to make a forced landing on a narrow gravel road. The left […]
Low altitude stall kills two
The pilot of the Piper Comanche, who had approximately 1,500 hours, including 689 in Piper Comanches, was attempting to land in La Pointe, Wis., after a cross-country flight. A witness heard what he described as a squealing noise. He looked toward the runway and saw the plane bouncing out of control. He reported that the […]