The pilot was departing from a soft, dry, 2,200-foot turf airfield using soft/short field procedures. After becoming airborne, the airplane settled back onto the runway, became airborne, and settled onto the runway a second time. At this time the right main wheel separated and the landing gear strut dug into the terrain spinning the airplane around and bringing it to an abrupt stop.
Category: Non-Fatal Single-Engine
The airplane landed from a skydiving flight with a remaining passenger after three parachutists had jumped from the airplane. The engine was not shut down and the airplane was pointed toward the vehicle waiting for the passenger to deplane. When the passenger exited the airplane, a ground crewmember leaned toward the airplane to talk to the pilot while the passenger went around the right side of the airplane.
The pilot stated that after departure and climbing to approximately 200 feet, the engine lost power and the airplane began to descend. During the forced landing the airplane struck a power line and impacted terrain resulting in substantial damage.
The airplane used for the skydiving operation was equipped with a foot step just above the right wheel, which the skydivers used to launch from the airplane. As the last of four skydivers stepped on the foot step, the right main landing gear fell away. The pilot reported that after he flew around for about 1 1/2 hours to burn off fuel, he intended to perform a low pass over the runway before coming around to land.
The flight was at 13,500 feet overhead the airport, preparing for the skydivers to jump. The pilot turned on the green light to initiate the jump. He then felt the aircraft shudder, but did not lose control of the airplane. After most of the jumpers had left the airplane, one of the skydivers came forward and notified the pilot of damage to the tail.
The pilot of a Piper L-4 airplane reported that shortly after he started the taxi roll from the parking area, he initiated a shallow turn toward the taxiway. As he reached the taxiway he steered to follow the centerline, however, the airplane continued to turn to the right. He reported, in part, that the left brake inputs were not responsive and the airplane continued to the right and collided with a standing occupied Cessna.
The private pilot stated that he was at an altitude of 3,500 feet when the engine stopped producing power. He made a forced landing to field and struck a cedar post with the airplane’s nose wheel and subsequently flipped over resulting in structural damage to the vertical stabilizer
The airplane was fueled before the pilot’s first flight that day. A total of 6.0 gallons of fuel were added to each fuel tank. After fueling, the pilot dipped each fuel tank using the provided dipstick, and determined that each tank contained between 7.0 and 7.5 gallons of usable fuel. He then flew one load of skydivers, returned, and attempted to secure the engine for fueling but was pressured by company personnel that he had enough fuel to make the second flight and that he needed to keep the airplane operating.
The helicopter impacted unmarked power transmission lines as the pilot maneuvered at a low altitude over a river. The helicopter impacted the river and separated into several pieces. The pilot and his passengers were not injured and were rescued by nearby boaters.
The pilot flew nine skydiving flights on the day of the accident in the Cessna 182A. Each flight was approximately 30 minutes in duration. The airplane was refueled after approximately every other flight with about 12 gallons of fuel. Prior to takeoff for the tenth and final flight of the day, the pilot thought he had about 16 gallons of fuel in the airplane; however, he did not visually confirm how much fuel was in the tanks and could not remember what the fuel gauges indicated.
The pilot landed on runway 33, which is a dirt runway. The wind direction at the time was 320 degrees at 19 knots, gusting to 29. The pilot turned the airplane around to back taxi to parking. While back taxiing, the airplane’s nose wheel encountered a soft spot of sand, and the pilot added some power to get through the soft spot. The tail came up, and the airplane nosed over.
The pilot reported that the airplane, which was used for sky diving operations, was climbing through 7,000 feet mean sea level (msl) when he heard an explosion followed by a metal grinding noise coming from the engine section of the airplane. He felt the airplane vibrate, and smoke began to fill the cabin. He reported that the engine was not producing any power so he shut the fuel off and performed procedures to rid the cabin of smoke.
The pilot was returning to the departure airport following the release of skydivers. The airplane was on a straight in approach to the runway during windy conditions when the engine lost power. The pilot applied full throttle but the engine did not respond.
Cessna U-206 Non-Fatal Huesca, Spain January 13, 2008
The pilot was returning to the airport after releasing some skydivers. He was following a training airplane in the traffic pattern and was gaining on it, so he decided to extend his downwind leg. On final approach to runway 08, his airplane was still gaining on the other airplane. The pilot reduced power and raised the nose to reduce airspeed to 85 mph.
The commercial pilot was climbing the airplane with four skydivers aboard when the engine lost power. The pilot told the skydivers to jump when he could not restart the engine, and they all jumped successfully without injury. The pilot made a forced landing short of the departure runway, and the airplane collided with small trees, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.
Following three days of rain, the pilot attempted a soft field takeoff from a turf runway. The pilot reported that as the airplane was “sliding” down the runway he observed something on the windscreen that resembled oil, followed by a decrease in engine oil pressure.
The pilot checked the fuel quantity with a wooden stick and estimated 21 gallons of fuel was onboard for the parachute flight. The takeoff and climb to 10,000 feet msl, and release of the jumpers, was normal. On the return to the airport, while on the turn to base leg, the engine lost power.
After releasing skydivers, the pilot was descending the airplane from 11,000 feet and returning to his home airport. He utilized carburetor heat while descending to 3,000 feet, and everything seemed normal during the approach to the 3,999-foot-long asphalt runway. The bounced upon landing and the pilot initiated a go-around; however, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power during the initial climb, about 50 to 75 feet above ground level (agl).
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.
According to the pilot of the Cessna 182A, he was returning to land after completing a skydiving drop. The descent, and the downwind and base legs of the traffic pattern were uneventful; however, after turning onto the final leg, the pilot attempted to add power, and the engine “cut out.”
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 pilot reported that shortly after reaching an altitude of 400 feet agl after takeoff, the engine quit suddenly. He immediately pumped the throttle two times, and turned on the auxiliary fuel pump, but this did not restore engine power. He made a hard forced landing in an industrial park near the airport.
According to the pilot, she dropped her load of skydivers and was coming in for a landing. She “could see fog rolling in fast” and knew she “had to get…on the ground.” She “landed at a higher speed which is normally fine but because of the runway conditions, which were slick, [she] had minimal braking and ran out of runway.”