The commercial pilot was conducting a cross-country flight to deliver the airplane to a maintenance
facility. The airplane departed with full fuel tanks. The pilot stated that, as the airplane neared the
planned fuel stop airport, he thought that there was adequate fuel remaining to reach the maintenance
facility, so he did not stop to refuel and continued to the destination. About 4 hours 23 minutes into the
flight, which was past the expected fuel exhaustion time of about 4 hours 18 minutes (assuming a fuel
burn of 50 gallons per hour, which the pilot used for his initial flight planning), the pilot declared an
emergency and advised an air traffic controller that the airplane was out of fuel. The controller provided
information to the pilot about nearby airports, but the airplane would not have been able to reach any of
them, so the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. Before touchdown in the field, the pilot descended
to avoid power lines ahead, but the airplane hit one of the lines. The airplane touched down in the field,
impacted an embankment, and came to rest upright on a road. The airplane sustained substantial
damage.
Category: Preflight
A de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter airplane, N30EA, collided with another Twin Otter airplane, N70EA,
on the runway. The pilot of N30EA reported that, once she started the engines, the airplane rolled
forward and to the left 180 degrees because the steering-tiller had been positioned sharply to the left
when the airplane was last parked. The pilot stated that, when she applied the brakes, there was no
response, and the airplane subsequently collided with the right wing of N70EA. The pilot of N30EA
reported that, after the collision, she noted that the hydraulic circuit breaker was open; this would have
resulted in insufficient hydraulic pressure to control the parking or pedal brakes. The pilot of N30EA
said that she should have noticed that the hydraulic circuit breaker was open before she started the
engines because it was part of the Before Starting Engines checklist.
The pilot stated she had been conducting parachute drop operations through out the day. The pilot departed on the last parachute drop flight at an undetermined time, completed the parachute drop, and descended with power on. The pilot did not apply carburetor heat during the descent because the carburetor heat control cable was stuck, and would not move for the last two days.
The 568-hour commercial pilot was returning to a private airstrip for a night landing after releasing parachute jumpers. According to the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) the aircraft’s landing light was inoperative so in an attempt to identify the unlit grass runway, the pilot flew over the area several times to try to find the airstrip.
The airplane failed to gain altitude and settled into the ground during the takeoff initial climb. The firewall buckled during the ground contact. The pilot said that just after takeoff, the airspeed decreased to 60 knots and the airplane was 300 feet above ground level. He was unable to recover the airspeed and he touched down in a field.
The airline transport certificated pilot with 10 skydiving passengers began a takeoff in a tailwheel-equipped and turboprop powered airplane on a CFR Part 91 skydiving flight. As the airplane started its climb, the pitch angle of the nose of the airplane increased until the airplane appeared to stall about 50 to 100 feet agl. It descended and impacted the runway in a left wing, nose low attitude.
The airplane departed about 1130, and the outside air temperature at 1145 was 39 degrees F. The outside air temperature at 0747 was 28 degrees F. The pilot did not preheat the engine, and had difficulty starting it. On the third attempt, the engine started. The pilot then taxied to the runway, performed a rolling run-up, and departed.
The pilot did not perform weight and balance calculations for the accident flight; though, postaccident calculations indicated that the airplane was under gross weight and the center of gravity was within limits. The pilot reported that he did not have any memory of the accident flight. The accident flight was the second flight of the day for the pilot and began immediately after landing from the previous skydive drop flight.
The airplane initiated a forced landing after a partial loss of engine power during the takeoff initial climb. During the initial run-up the magneto check was not within acceptable limits; however, approximately 15 minutes later the pilot rechecked the magnetos and they were within acceptable limits. The pilot said he configured and checked the airplane prior to takeoff with 10 degrees of flaps and all gages “in the green.”
The pilot and 21 jumpers were aboard the airplane for the local skydiving flight. The airplane took off to the north on the wet grass runway. Jumpers reported that during the initial takeoff climb, the aircraft assumed a “very steep angle of attack,” and described the pilot “winding the wheel on the lower right side of the chair clockwise, frantically,” and “busy with a wheel between the seats.”
The airplane quickly became airborne and started an extremely steep climb for several hundred feet, which was followed by an equally steep descent until the airplane collided with terrain. The airplane had just completed one jump flight, and a different pilot fueled the airplane in preparation for the accident flight. The airplane was configured with one seat on the left side for the pilot and a 2-inch pad with seat belts for up to four skydivers.
The parachute jump flight’s airplane was at 3,700 feet MSL when the pilot cancelled the operation with the FAA approach controller without explanation. Witnesses observed the airplane trailing white and black smoke. One witness said he saw the airplane trailing black smoke with its engine making a banging sound. Three witnesses at the accident airport said the airplane had smoke and flames coming from the airplane’s cowl and along the windshield as it approached the airport.
After three uneventful parachute drop flights with three or four jumpers each, the pilot landed and picked up two jumpers. During the next takeoff roll, the pilot aborted the takeoff and was unable to stop the airplane before it struck a fence at the end of the 2,200 foot asphalt runway. The pilot stated ‘everything was normal, except the plane didn’t lift off.’
The pilot was taking off with 10 jumpers onboard. At the rotation speed of 100 knots, he used elevator trim to rotate the airplane, but it did not lift off the runway. He continued moving the trim wheel violently to pitch the nose up, and attempted to pull back on the yoke, but the airplane collided with rising terrain off the end of the runway.
The recently employed pilot-in-command (PIC) had been given a 1-hour orientation flight by another pilot the morning of the accident. The airplane used was equipped with only one seat, and the PIC flew the airplane while the pilot who gave the orientation sat on the floor.
The pilot took off with four skydivers on board the airplane, and climbed to 10,000 feet. After the skydivers exited the airplane, the pilot returned to land at the departure airport. The pilot stated that after landing, the airplane impacted parked road grading equipment. He reported that it was a dark night and winds were calm when the accident occurred.
The pilot carried four parachute jumpers aloft; one left the aircraft at 4,500 feet and the last three left at 12,000 feet. After all the jumpers had exited, the pilot decided to do a power off stall. He stated that he was ‘curious about the gliding abilities of the 182’ and pulled the mixture control to idle cutoff when the aircraft was over the airport at 11,500 feet.
After one of a group of five parachutists decided not to jump from the helicopter, he failed to deactivate a safety device designed to open his reserve parachute at a preset altitude.
The airplane was loaded with 10 sport parachutists and one pilot. Later, investigators calculated that the maximum gross weight was exceeded by 149.6 pounds, and the center of gravity was 2.87 inches aft of the aft limit. The cabin door had been removed for parachuting operations; however, an altered Flight Manual Supplement had been used as authority for the door removal.
The pilot reported that after the airplane reached an altitude of 10,500 feet msl, the skydivers exited the airplane. The pilot stated that he then began a wings-level, high-rate descent to stay clear of the drop zone. The mixture was at full rich and the carburetor heat was applied as he maintained 150 to 160 knots indicated airspeed.
The pilot lost control of the tailwheel equipped airplane while attempting to land on runway 18 with a crosswind from 290 at 19 knots, gusting to 37. The airplane ground looped and the left wing spar was damaged when the wing impacted the ground.
AFTER FUELING THE AIRCRAFT, THE PILOT OBSERVED ‘A LOT’ OF WATER IN THE FUEL, WHEN CHECKING THE SUMPS. HE SHOOK THE WINGS, AND AGAIN OBSERVED WATER. HE ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO SIT FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, THEN HE CHECKED THE SUMPS AGAIN. HE DRAINED WATER UNTIL NO MORE WATER WAS OBSERVED. AT ABOUT 200 FEET AGL, DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, THE ENGINE QUIT.
The pilot was asked by the airport manager to fly a parachute jump flight in a cessna 172. The manager suggested that the pilot make a soft field takeoff & climb straight out to gain altitude. Witnesses reported the takeoff and initial climb appeared normal, but at about 200′ agl, the airplane leveled off, then descended about 50′ and continued forward for a moment
The pilot was conducting a local skydiving flight. During the climb, both engines began to operate intermittently. The pilot instructed the parachutists to bail out at 9,000 feet msl and returned to the airport. The pilot failed to use carburetor heat during the descent. The pilot applied power to both engines while on final approach, but got no response.
The pilots were completing a parachute/orientation flight. After the parachutists exited, the airplane, with the first pilot at the controls, returned to the airport, descending at the maximum descent rate. The second pilot, a company check pilot, reported that the first pilot touched down simultaneously on the nose and right main landing gears at a high airspeed. The airplane subsequently swerved to the left and struck a bush located about 150 feet from the runway centerline and nosed over.