Accidents/NTSB

A more-than-half-a-century-old aviation mystery has almost certainly been solved. On Jan. 27, 1971, Jet Commander N400CP departed from Burlington International Airport in Vermont bound for Providence, Rhode Island. The twinjet disappeared shortly after takeoff in snowy weather. Over the next several days, nearby Lake Champlain froze over, and despite several widespread searches over the years, […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined last year’s near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a FedEx Boeing 767 on an Austin, Texas, runway was caused by a lack of critical safety technology and errors made by an air traffic controller. The Feb. 4, 2023, incident was one of several close calls […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its preliminary report on the May 15 fatal in-flight-breakup accident involving Bonanza N47WT near Nashville, Tennessee. It answers some, but not all, of the questions on how this accident happened. One segment of the report suggests that the accident could mark the first time, ever, that a […]

A former airline pilot has admitted lying to federal authorities regarding the crash of a Stearman biplane he was flying with a passenger in the summer of 2022. Former United Airlines pilot Bruce Forbes, 66 at the time, initially told authorities the Stearman experienced engine trouble on a sightseeing flight over a lake and he […]

Neither man aboard a Taylorcraft BC-12D that crashed in Six Mile Lake in southern Alaska May 17 had a pilot certificate, and authorities have found no evidence that they ever did according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. The aircraft took off from Port Alsworth Airport headed to Nondalton Airport, 24 miles away, with David Hedgers, […]

All seven people aboard a turbine-powered Cessna 206 safely parachuted from a skydiving plane in Missouri on Saturday. The modified Cessna Super Skywagon, with a 550-horsepower Pratt & Whitney turboprop, was at 14,000 feet over Butler County when a “premature parachute release” fouled the tail and possibly damaged it. Everyone, including the pilot, got out […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its final report on last year’s fatal midair collision at EAA AirVenture, concluding that the crash occurred when a gyroplane violated event rules by making a prohibited 360-degree turn and collided with a helicopter. According to the NTSB report, both pilots attended a rotorcraft briefing where event coordinators […]

Last night (May 14), the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to confirm the Biden Administration’s nomination of Jennifer Homendy to another five-year term as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and a second three-year term as chair of the board. Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Sen. Maria Cantwell, […]

A C-54 transport carrying fuel crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday. The plane, the military version of the DC-4 airliner, was carrying two crew and both died in the crash. The aircraft was owned by Alaska Air Fuel and crashed into the Tanana River about 10 a.m. Video shows fire […]

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) final report cites pilot error as the likely cause of a midair collision that killed three over Watsonville Municipal Airport in August 2022. A Cessna 152 was practicing touch-and-go landings at the airport when the pilot of a Cessna 340 announced his intentions for a straight-in approach to land. […]