Cessna Safety Record

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to properly check that the flight controls were correctly configured before takeoff.

The pilot receiving instruction’s failure to see and avoid an airplane holding short of the runway on the taxiway and the flight instructor’s lack of situational awareness.

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing. Contributing to the accident were pilot fatigue and his failure to use the before landing checklist.

The pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning and inadequate in-flight fuel monitoring which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and an emergency landing and subsequent impact with a ditch.

The pilot’s failure to maintain crosswind correction during landing and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s and flight instructor’s decision to land with gusting tailwinds.

The pilot's inability to gain altitude normally in order to avoid a flock of ducks flying overhead during takeoff, which resulted in the airplane striking a fence.

The pilot's decision to take off into instrument meteorological conditions that resulted in spatial disorientation, and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

The pilot’s improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent off-airport landing and nose-over.

The pilot’s failure to see the taxiway when returning to the ramp from the snow-covered runway, which resulted in the airplane rolling down an embankment.

The partial loss of engine power after a simulated engine failure for reasons that could not be determined because a postaccident examination and an engine test run did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.