Aviation Safety

At 1256 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-181 lost aileron control in flight and was damaged in a resulting emergency landing. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was practicing maneuvers for his commercial certificate and attempted to make a clearing turn when the ailerons failed to respond. He declared an emergency and landed on a dirt road, using rudder and throttle to control the airplane. After landing, the right wing struck a tree. An FAA investigator found a fastener on the floor that attaches the left control wheel to the control column. When the column was moved, the ailerons worked normally….

At approximately 1144 central time, a Cessna 172S crashed after reporting a bird strike. The flight instructor and student pilot were killed. Radio transmissions showed the pilot reported the airplane was going down. The pilot said, Send somebody to pick us up. I think were going to be fine. We hit a bird, but we gotta go down. We cant keep it straight with the power on. The pilot then advised he was going to end radio contact. The wreckage was contained within a path 60 feet long and the wings displayed leading edge damage. The flaps were extended 20 degrees. Evidence of a bird strike was found about 12 inches outboard of the left wing landing/taxi light….

At 2110 eastern time, a Cessna T210N was ditched into Peconic Bay, near Hampton Bays, Long Island. The pilot and the four passengers suffered minor injuries and a dog was killed. The pilot said he departed East Hampton Airport and climbed to 2,000 feet, en route to La Guardia Airport, when the autopilot disengaged and the engine began to lose power. The airplane came to rest in approximately 8 feet of water, about 150 yards off shore. The airplane was recovered and, after several attempts, the engine ran at various power settings without interruption. No pre-ditching mechanical deficiencies were noted….

At about 1050 eastern time, a Piper PA-28-181 was damaged while landing at Griffing-Sandusky Airport. The pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. The pilot said he was on approach to runway 27, a 3,559-foot runway, when he saw another airplane on a taxiway near the runway. He was not certain of the other airplanes intentions, so he decided to go around. The engine then began to lose power. He looked down and noticed that the mixture control was pulled back. He pushed the mixture in, but the airplane struck trees about a quarter mile beyond the departure end of the runway….

At about 1015 Pacific time, a Cessna Citation 525 ditched in the waters of Penn Cove after losing elevator trim control. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot said they were climbing through 16,000 feet en route to FL 330 when the airplane abruptly nosed over to 45 degrees down. He disconnected the autopilot, throttled back and attempted to re-trim the elevator. He said the cockpit trim indicator was in the full nose-down position and neither the manual trim nor the electric trim would respond to his inputs. After numerous attempts to troubleshoot the problem, the pilot elected to ditch about 300 yards offshore….

Selected recent general aviation and airline accidents

At 1215 eastern time, a Cessna 172 suffered a loss of engine power on initial climb from Linden Airport and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot, who suffered minor injuries, was the maintenance officer for the flying club that operated the airplane. He said the carburetor had been replaced on the airplane the week prior to the accident and the airplane had experienced several abnormal events since its installation. The purpose of the accident flight was to fly to Princeton to have the carburetor re-examined. The pilot said the engine began to run rough at about 300 feet agl, then lost power after about 10 seconds. During the forced landing the airplane struck a gas pipeline….

At about 1600 Alaska time, a Cessna 421 crashed while on an instrument approach about four miles north of Sitka Airport. The pilot and four passengers were killed. A technician at the Sitka Flight Service Station told investigators the pilot reported that a forward baggage door had come open, and that he wanted to land at Sitka and inspect the door. The pilot was cleared for the GPS Rwy 11 approach to Sitka. The pilot reported he was final approach fix inbound on the instrument approach, but the airplane never arrived at the airport. The accident site was inside the final approach fix, three miles from the missed approach point, and about two miles north of the course centerline….

At about 1115 eastern time, a Beech F-35 broke up in flight and was destroyed in the resulting crash. The pilot and passenger were killed. The VFR flight was about eight miles from the destination when he advised the air traffic controller he had the runway in sight. The controller terminated flight following and approved a change to the airport advisory frequency. Radar data showed the airplane began its descent about eight miles out, turned to the right about two miles out, and then disappeared from radar while still at 4,400 feet. The wreckage was spread over a half-mile, with the left and right horizontal stabilizers located at the beginning of the trail and the wing spars buckled in a d…

At about 1100 eastern time, a Grumman AA5B was damaged following a loss of engine power while landing at Block Island State Airport. The pilot and three passengers suffered minor injuries. The pilot said the airplane was at an altitude of 1,200 feet when he turned onto the base leg and the engine burbled momentarily. When the pilot turned onto the final approach, the engine began coughing and sputtering. He said he stretched the glide to make the runway. The airplane struck the runway hard, bounced, and the engine then gained full power. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and struck several airplanes parked 1,200 feet from the approach end of the runway and 500 feet t…