Accident Probes

Owning an aircraft is an empowering experience. Winged assets in your hip pocket can open up all kinds of opportunities and adventures free of many concerns associated with traditional clubs and aircraft rental operations. It’s also an awesome responsibility, often isn’t kind to your wallet and can bring many new and unanticipated challenges. For one […]

New data from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) show that fatal accidents involving experimental aircraft—homebuilts and others—were up sharply during the federal fiscal year ending September 30, to 56. In FY2021, the number of fatals was 42. The new numbers come from the FAA’s ongoing data tracking. “The fatal accident totals, for both amateur-builts and […]

September 1, 2022, Orlando, Fla. Diamond Aircraft DA42 NG Twin Star At about 1700 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it flipped over in high winds and came to rest inverted. The private pilot was fatally injured and the flight instructor was seriously injured. Instrument conditions prevailed as the intended instructional flight waited […]

It’s an article of faith in aviation and other endeavors that having more experience with a specific machine is less risky than having less. In aviation, we measure this by the number of hours accrued in a specific aircraft type. A corollary is that pilots with relatively few hours in-type are at greater risk of […]

When one pores over the number of accident reports I have over the years, a few things stand out. One is there are a lot of engine failures resulting in the NTSB’s definition of an accident. Another is that post-accident investigation frequently fails to identify a reason for the failure; the engine runs fine when […]

August 1, 2022, Wauchula, Fla. Beech 35 Bonanza At about 1100 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged when its landing gear collapsed following emergency extension after an electrical failure. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot later reported the airplane experienced a total loss of electrical power while in […]

July 2, 2022, Oklahoma City, Okla. Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee 140 At about 0829 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage when it failed to gain altitude after takeoff and apparently stalled before contacting terrain. The pilot sustained serious injuries; the passenger was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot reported the airplane did not perform […]

Airframe icing can be found year-round, depending on geography and altitude. In North America, we’re heading into the season when pilots of personal airplanes, which generally don’t fly high enough to worry about ice most of the year, need to factor it into their planning and execution. Even if you’re flying something with a form […]

June 1, 2022, River Falls, Wis. Grumman AA-1B Trainer/TR-2 At about 1215 Central time, the airplane was substantially damaged in an off-airport landing shortly after takeoff following engine failure. The student pilot received minor injuries and the flight instructor received serious injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. The student pilot reported that, as the airplane was about […]

Even before I started taking flying lessons, I was exposed to aviation. Without a formal frame of reference, I absorbed what little I could from other pilots’ stories, reading about flying in books and magazines like this one and, tragically, learning how some of them came to grief. That usually involved poor weather. It took […]