Aviation Safety

The Mooney sustained substantial damage during a landing on Runway 9 at the Table Rock Airport (MO32), Golden, Mo. The Private pilot was seriously injured. In a written report, the pilot stated that the airplane began to drift sharply to the left as it crossed the runway end about 20 to 30 feet agl. The pilot stated, I dipped my right wing, applied full right rudder and I applied full power intending to go around. About the time I started to climb out my left wing and then the prop hit the branches of a couple of trees approximately 70 [feet] left of the runway. I remember seeing the prop bending just before the plane nose dived to the ground and settled right side up facing the opposite di…

At 1210 UTC, a Piper PA-42 sustained minor damage while in cruise flight near Reims, France. The foreign certificated pilot was seriously injured. Weather conditions were unknown. While in cruise flight at FL 180, a left window departed the airplane. The airplane experienced a rapid decompression, and the pilot completed a successful emergency landing….

At about 1430 Mountain time, the helicopter was substantially damaged during a hard landing to Runway 17R at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo. The Private pilot and his passenger were uninjured. Visual conditions prevailed; the flight departed had Jefferson County Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colo., at approximately 1400. During a takeoff, the pilot reported that after crossing the threshold at 40 knots and 40 feet agl, he felt like [he] was in a high rate of descent and the [helicopter] began to sink. The pilot suspected he was settling with power and decreased the collective and pushed the cyclic forward. The helicopter continued to sink, impacting the runway hard and sliding for ap…

The King Air was destroyed at about 0830 Eastern time when it impacted Big Mountain, near Rupert, W.V. The Airline Transport Pilot and Commercial pilot board were fatally injured. Instrument conditions prevailed near the accident site; no flight plan had been filed for the positioning flight from Summersville, W.V., to Lewisburg, W.V. According to an FAA inspector, the flightcrew intended to meet passengers at Lewisburg and take them to Charlotte, N.C. Prior to the flight, the flightcrew obtained a weather briefing and filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan for the second leg of the trip to Charlotte. However, the flightcrew did not file a flight plan for the first leg of the tri…

At about 1137 Alaska time, the twin-engine turboprop was destroyed during an in-flight collision with tree-covered terrain, about 10 miles east of Kodiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated non-scheduled domestic cargo flight under FAR Part 135 during the accident flight. The solo Airline Transport Pilot was fatally injured. Instrument conditions prevailed at the destination airport and an IFR flight plan was filed. According to the FAA, the flight departed Anchorage at 0955. As the flight approached Kodiak, the ceiling and visibility lowered, and the pilot elected hold east of the airport to await more favorable weather. After holding for about 45 minutes, the weather had improved and…

At about 0945 Eastern time the airplane crashed off the end of the runway at Crystal River, Fla. Visual conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The Private pilot and three passengers were uninjured, although the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight had originated in Sarasota, Fla., about 45 minutes earlier. While in level cruise flight at 8000 feet, the engine started running roughly. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude, declared an emergency with the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center, and was given vectors for an airport at Crystal River, Fla. The pilot later stated that he flew the subsequent approach to a forced landing with t…

At 0324 Eastern time the helicopter was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain near Killingly, Conn. The Commercial pilot and a Private pilot were fatally injured. Night instrument conditions prevailed, but no flight plan had been filed for the Part 91 positioning flight from Scranton, Penn., to the Theodore Francis (T.F.) Green State Airport (PVD) in Providence, R.I. Preliminary downloaded data from a handheld GPS unit found at the crash site revealed that the helicopter had departed Scranton at 0047. It then proceeded east, along Interstate 84, to Middletown, N.Y., turned southeast, along Route 17, then south, along Interstate 87. The helicopter subsequently passed Nyack, N.Y., cross…

The Cessna was presumed destroyed when it impacted Lake Erie while in cruise flight near Dunkirk, N.Y., at approximately 1050 Eastern time. The solo Commercial pilot was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed Flint, Mich., for Jamestown, N.Y. Earlier, the airplane was cruising at 9000 feet and in contact with ATC. The airplane was cleared to descend to 5000 feet at the pilots discretion and was deviating around thunderstorm activity when radar and radio communication was lost. Initial radar data revealed that at 1049:30, the airplane was at 7400 feet when it began a right turn. Th…

At about 2345 Eastern time, the Skyhawk collided with rising terrain during an instructional flight in visual conditions. Both the instructor and student were injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight was en route to Thomson, Ga., and encountered lowering ceilings. After descending to 3500 feet, the airplane collided with trees….

The helicopter collided with trees and was substantially damaged at 0530 Eastern time during a cross-country flight from Greer, S.C., that had begin at about 0300 that morning. Instrument conditions prevailed but no flight plan had been filed. The flight instructor and two passengers were fatally injured. A witness reported hearing a helicopter over a residential area and, shortly afterward, heard an explosion. The helicopter was found engulfed in flames. Efforts by the witnesses to extinguish the flames were unsuccessful. No radio communication was received from the pilot prior to the accident….