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Two Fatal Cases of the Simply Inexperienced

NTSB reports blame a pair of aviation accidents on green pilots.

Stall spins are, and always have been, a common cause of fatalities in general aviation. [Adobe Stock]
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Key Takeaways:

  • The article details two fatal general aviation accidents in 2019 attributed by the NTSB to pilot inexperience and non-compliance, but which the author suggests may have more complex causes.
  • The first accident involved a student pilot crashing a Cessna 140 with his son in South Dakota, operating outside regulatory limits with an expired medical, no proper endorsement for the aircraft, and carrying a passenger.
  • The second incident saw a multi-engine CFI crash a Cessna 421 in Florida that had not been inspected in five years and was being prepared for restoration, with the NTSB citing the pilot's lack of specific training for that aircraft model.
  • The author questions the NTSB's conclusions, suggesting that attributing these crashes solely to pilot inexperience or non-compliance may oversimplify complex scenarios and potentially overlook mechanical issues or other contributing factors.
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In September 2019, in a sparsely populated part of South Dakota near the Nebraska border, a father and son went flying in their Cessna 140. When they did not return, sheriffs began a search.

The next day, the wreckage of the 140, its front end crushed, was found a few hundred feet northwest of the pilot’s private strip. Since the flaps were down, it had evidently been approaching to land when it stalled and spun. There was no way to know why the mishap occurred, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the accident noted that conditions were such that carburetor icing was likely.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

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