AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. Find out more about Aviation Safety at www.aviationsafetymagazine.com.
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 cruise. He used the emergency extension handle to lower the landing gear, cranking it “about 40 times, which should be down and locked,” until it stopped. During the subsequent landing, the left main landing gear collapsed and spun the airplane to the left before coming to rest. The left wing and fuselage were damaged.
August 2, 2022, South Haven Charter Township, Mich.
Smith Aerostar 600
The airplane was destroyed at about 1030 Eastern time when it collided with terrain under unknown circumstances. The airline transport pilot and commercial pilot aboard were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed.
The commercial pilot purchased the airplane about five years earlier, doing unspecified work on it. This was its first flight under his ownership, which was planned to remain in the traffic pattern for touch-and-go landings. The airplane was reported missing later that day; its wreckage was located the following morning in a heavily wooded area a mile north of the departure airport. All major components of the airplane were found at the accident site. The two propellers remained attached to their engines. The left propeller displayed aft bending while the right one exhibited chordwise scoring and aft bending.
August 3, 2022, Carlsbad, N.M.
Socata TBM 700
At about 1500 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it touched down with its landing gear partially extended. The pilot and two passengers were not injured.
The pilot later stated he felt the airplane was faster than normal on approach, even after reducing the throttle more than expected. On short final, the pilot heard a low tone he was unfamiliar with, which he chose to ignore. The propeller impacted the runway and the airplane settled onto its belly, coming to a stop near the centerline. The landing gear switch was found in the down position, and the main landing gear were partially extended. The pilot did not recall looking at the landing gear indicator lights before touchdown.
August 3, 2022, Cynthiana, KY
Piper J3C-65 Cub
The airplane was substantially damaged at about 1725 Eastern time during an attempted landing ahead of an approaching thunderstorm. The passenger sustained fatal injuries and the private pilot was seriously injured.
The flight departed at about 1700. Shortly thereafter, witnesses reported an “intense” thunderstorm approached from the north, accompanied by a rapid wind shift and increase in speed, plus a 15-degree temperature drop. An additional witness observed the airplane return to the airport, flying an “unusually low” traffic pattern. The airplane approached the airport at a low altitude and made a base-to-final turn over the runway numbers before suddenly descending in a left spin and impacting next to the runway. Almost immediately after impact, heavy rain and wind began at the airport.
August 7, 2022, Ellenville, N.Y.
Cessna 150H
At about 0935 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during takeoff when it failed to gain altitude. The commercial pilot/flight instructor sustained minor injuries; the pilot-rated passenger was not injured.
The airplane had just been purchased by the pilot-rated passenger, who sat in the left seat and performed the takeoff with 10 degrees of flaps for “extra lift to get us away from the ground.” The airplane lifted off with about 1000 feet of runway remaining and climbed to about 100 feet AGL. At that point, it stopped climbing and the commercial pilot took the controls, looking for a place to land. The stall warning horn sounded, and he lowered the nose to maintain speed. Approaching two sets of power lines, he pitched up to clear the first one, and then cut engine power and raised the flaps. The airplane dropped about 30 feet and crashed onto a roadway.
August 7, 2022, Bardstown, KY
Diamond DA40 Diamond Star
The airplane sustained minor damage but a passenger was killed at about 1425 Eastern time when they exited the airplane while the engine was running on the ground. The private pilot and a second passenger were not injured.
According to the pilot, shortly after landing, with light rain in the area, the two passengers decided to switch seats. After taxiing to the ramp and turning the airplane around to face the taxiway, the pilot parked and opened the canopy with the engine still operating. As the pilot attempted to shut down the engine by pulling out the mixture control, the right front seat passenger had already exited the airplane onto the right wing, stepped off and “ran” into the propeller that was still operating, resulting in fatal injuries.
This article originally appeared in the November 2022 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.
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I am only speculating, but 2 guys in a 150 in August? Did density altitude and weight have anything to do with this accident? After I got a decent pay raise, I haven’t flown a 152 almost 20 years ago. For those very reasons.
10 degrees of flaps on takeoff on a hot day probably did!
As pilots we need to be very careful about passengers or other ground personnel around running props. As a friend of mine who went through US Navy airplane mechanic training on Skyraiders, was told by the instructor, “airplane props, the sharpest blade ever honed!” A manifest manager at a Caravan drop zone I used to fly at walked into a Twin Otter prop trying to get a meal request. Another person delivering checks to a MU2 walked into the running prop when that person was trying to deliver a bag initially forgotten. Both persons described were killed, the MU2 incident instantly.
Indeed. When I was about 13 years old my aviation mentor told me something that has stuck ever since. He said “When you’re at the airport and you hear an engine running on the ground, figure out where the sound is coming from, and then be cautious and careful.” As a result I thought everybody at the airport(s) had been told this and knew this but 50 years later I am consistently surprised by the way some people who should know better seem to ignore it.