Aviation Safety

At 1530 eastern time, a Cessna 172N was damaged when it collided with trees during takeoff from Simpson Airport in Philippi. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. According to the pilot, he performed a short-field takeoff from runway 19 at Simpson. He rotated the airplane about 1,300 feet from the approach end of the 1,500-foot long turf runway. During the initial climb out, the airplane impacted the tops of 40-foot-tall trees, located about 200 feet from the departure end of the runway. The airplane descended through the trees, coming to rest inverted and suspended in a tree. The pilot stated that he was aware of the trees prior to takeoff. The weather station at Clarksburg,…

Selected recent general aviation and airline accidents

At about 1115 eastern time, a Fleet 16B was destroyed when it impacted water following low-level maneuvering about one mile south of Fishers Island. The pilot and passenger were presumed killed. The accident airplane had departed Westerly, Rhode Island, about 15 minutes prior to the accident as one of a flight of three airplanes. The other airplanes in the flight were a Citabria and an RV-8. The pilot of the Citabria said he was flying in formation with the Fleet while a passenger in the RV-8 took photographs. Two witnesses in boats described the maneuvers of the two airplanes as like they were performing in an air show or like they were dog fighting. Both witnesses described steep turns…

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