Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary ERA20CA300

Millington, MD, USA

Aircraft #1

N3707U

Cessna 182

Analysis

After a successful glider release, the pilot of the tow airplane was attempting to return to the turf runway at the departure airport. The pilot stated that he had difficulty locating the runway amongst the nearby corn fields and mistakenly aligned the airplane to land on a long swath of corn. During the landing attempt, and just as the pilot realized that the airplane was over corn and not the runway, the airplane “stalled” and impacted the ground. The airplane’s fuselage and wings were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot’s misidentification of a corn field for the destination airport’s runway, and a subsequent aerodynamic stall at low altitude while attempting to land.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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