Aircraft: Piper Twin Comanche. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Canton, Mo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The 74-year-old pilot’s logbook was destroyed in a hangar fire in 2011, but remaining records indicated that he had about 6,459 total flight hours and 809 multi-engine hours. It could not be determined how many hours he had in a Twin […]
NTSB
Hard landing wrinkles airplane
Aircraft: Piper Cherokee Arrow. Injuries: None. Location: Everett, Wash. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, who had logged 269 hours, including 90 in a Piper Cherokee Arrow, had recently failed the practical flight test for his commercial pilot certificate and was flying with a CFI to re-qualify for another practical test. The two flew a […]
Pilot comes up short of runway
Aircraft: Piper Super Cub. Injuries: None. Location: Delta Junction, Alaska. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel-equipped airplane on a rough and uneven, brush-covered airstrip. Before beginning the approach, he determined the wind direction and selected a touchdown point. After landing, the right main tire dropped into a hole and the […]
VFR into IMC kills one
Aircraft: Beechcraft Musketeer. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Dayton, Va. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: Before departing, the non-instrument-rated pilot obtained a weather briefing and was advised several times that VFR flight was not recommended due to existing and forecasted instrument meteorological conditions along his intended route of flight. He declined to file a flight plan and took […]
Airplane stalls on departure
Aircraft: Aeronca 11AC. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Comfort, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot took off and at an altitude of 250 feet AGL, initiated a left turn. During the turn, the left wing dropped 60° to 70°. The pilot was unable to regain control and the airplane crashed into a fence. The pilot stated […]
Pre-purchase flight ends with crash
Aircraft: Socata TB 10. Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Serious. Location: Shirley, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The flight was a pre-purchase demonstration of the airplane. The buyer intended to examine and photograph the maintenance records, then fly the airplane around the airport traffic pattern with the owner. However, the owner insisted they fly the airplane before […]
Too much brake for Bellanca
Aircraft: Bellanca 7GCBC. Injuries: None. Location: Sidney, Neb. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: According to the pilot, during the landing rollout as the airplane slowed, it started veering to the right. He applied left rudder and left brake to correct the problem. The tail came up, the propeller struck the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The […]
Low altitude loss of power kills one
Aircraft: Folke-Wolf-190 ½ Scale. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Columbus, Ga. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, 71, had logged about 13,000 hours. He was flying the pattern at a tower controlled airport. After conducting a touch-and-go landing on Runway 24, he advised the controller that he had a partial loss of engine power and intended to […]
Bounced landing for Tri-Pacer
Aircraft: Piper Tri-Pacer. Injuries: None. Location: Napa, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane touched down in a slight crab, bounced and went off the runway. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations were found during the investigation. Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing […]