Aviation Safety

June 14, 2005, Woodfords, Calif.
Bellanca 7GCBC
At about 1139 Pacific time, the airplane collided with terrain, fatally injuring the pilot. Visual conditions prevailed. According to a witness, the airplane appeared to be doing aerobatics. He saw it complete a loop and began a second one. The airplane appeared to be fighting the wind and moving very slowly. The airplane then came down, completing the second loop. The airplane then went back up into a third loop and came straight down, out of sight, and into the trees. Another witness stated the airplane appeared to stall and descend in a tailspin.

June 15, 2005, Fort Payne, Ala.
Cessna 152
The airplane coll…

The airplane collided with the ground during an attempted landing at 2320 Central time. The 14-year-old non-certificated pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. According to police, the boy had never flown an airplane before but went to the airport and found an airplane with keys in it. He flew for a few minutes and landed, then took off again. On the second flight, he flew a few minutes longer and attempted to land again. This time he landed hard and the airplane veered to the left. He stated that he added power in an attempt to go around but the airplane crashed on a road in a nosedown attitude and slid about 40 feet.The 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged wi…

At 0030 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing in a field after a loss of engine power. The Private pilot was not injured. The flight departed Pinckneyville, Ill., at 2245 and was en route to Olathe, Kan. Night visual conditions prevailed. A post-crash examination revealed about one cup of fuel was present in each wing tank; there was no evidence of a fuel leak anywhere on the airplane. The engine was rotated and thumb compression was observed on all cylinders, and spark was observed on all spark plugs….

At 1228 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged when the right main landing gear collapsed while landing. Visual conditions prevailed; the Airline Transport pilot and sole occupant was not injured. The flight was the first after the aircrafts annual inspection and the pilot was breaking in a new cylinder. He noted no anomalies during the flight which included an in-flight gear extension and retraction. He said the landing was uneventful. While taxiing back to the hangar, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing struck the ground. Post-accident inspection revealed a bolt attached to the lower portion of the bell crank was sheared and the main landing gear trun…

The airplane was substantially damaged and the Student pilot sustained minor injuries at about 2310 Pacific time when the airplane lost engine power and collided with an automobile during a forced landing on a freeway. The CFI aboard sustained serious injuries. Visual conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight. The CFI subsequently reported that, after switching from the auxiliary fuel tank to the left main fuel tank, the engine quit running. The Student pilot/owner began pumping the manual wobble fuel pump and turned on the electric fuel pump. The two tried each fuel tank, and, each time, the engine quit running when they stopped using the wobble pump. At 500 feet agl, they set up fo…

At about 1235 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted a residence shortly after takeoff. The Commercial pilot was seriously injured and three passengers were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed; an IFR flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight. One witness reported that the airplane used the majority of the 5001-foot runway and didnt appear to gain altitude. A second witness stated that the accident airplanes engine sounded like it was missing for a period of approximately 10 seconds. The airplane descended in an upright attitude, impacting the residence. According to another witness, the pilot repeated that he couldnt get air, couldnt get alti…

The airplane was destroyed when it was ditched at about 1855 Pacific time. Of the five on board, two persons (one of whom was a Private pilot) sustained fatal injuries, two persons (one of whom was a Commercial pilot) sustained serious injuries, and one person sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, which departed Redmond, Ore., at about 1713. During the airplanes initial approach to the destination airport, the pilot reported having an engine problem but reported the flight did not require assistance. Subsequently, another pilot told the controller the airplane hit the water….

At 1130 Mountain time, the airplane collided with an airport perimeter fence during landing and nosed over. The Private pilot and three passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual conditions prevailed. According to the pilot, while on final approach, the airplane began descending rapidly. The pilot retracted the flaps 10 degrees and applied full power, but the airplane continued to descend until it struck the airport perimeter fence and nosed over. According to the airport manager, approximately 35 gallons of fuel were drained from the airplane following the accident….

At about 1139 Pacific time, the airplane collided with terrain, fatally injuring the pilot. Visual conditions prevailed. According to a witness, the airplane appeared to be doing aerobatics. He saw it complete a loop and began a second one. The airplane appeared to be fighting the wind and moving very slowly. The airplane then came down, completing the second loop. The airplane then went back up into a third loop and came straight down, out of sight, and into the trees. Another witness stated the airplane appeared to stall and descend in a tailspin….

The airship was substantially damaged when it collided with trees, power lines and the ground at 1842 Eastern time in visual conditions. The Commercial pilot and the passenger reported no injuries. As the pilot headed the airship toward the Pompano Beach Airpark for landing, he saw numerous cloud-to-ground lighting strikes and decided not to land. The pilot flew the airship out of the area to wait for the storms to pass but the weather deteriorated rapidly, and he encountered heavy rain, lightning, and severe outflow and downdrafts. The pilot stated the airship became unable to climb, make headway, or maintain directional control with full power on the engines. He stated he attempted to…