Aviation Safety

At 1345 central time, a Cessna 172M nosed over in a field during a precautionary landing near Vici. The pilot was not injured. The pilot reported that, while flying from Liberal, Kan., to Oklahoma City, he encountered ice throughout the airframe. He made an unscheduled landing at Woodward, Okla. After removing some of the ice, the pilot departed Woodward and again headed for Oklahoma City. He was cruising at 115 mph when he encountered freezing rain. Over the next 20 miles, the pilot observed the indicated airspeed decay progressively to 80 mph. He then initiated a descent to maintain 80 mph and diverted to Vici Municipal Airport. When he could no longer maintain 80 mph, he elected to land i…

At 1407 eastern time, a Piper PA-28-161 crashed into a hangar while taxiing for parking. The pilot was not injured. The pilot stated he was taxiing between a parked airplane and the hangar when he applied left rudder to stop his turn. At that point, he inadvertently stepped on his headset cord and his head was jerked downward. While he attempted to untangle his head from the headset cord, the airplane continued forward and collided with the hangar….

At 1732 eastern time, a Cessna 210M on a Part 135 cargo flight was damaged during an emergency landing at Lunken Field. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was approaching Owensboro, Ky., for landing when he selected the gear down and his right leg was sprayed with hydraulic fluid. The gear down-and-locked light did not illuminate. He aborted the landing and circled while he and ground personnel tried to solve the problem. He then diverted to Lunken Field, where the charter company has a maintenance base, where ground personnel were able to see that the main gear were dangling. He secured the engine and landed on runway 07, but the airplane veered off the right side of the runway an…

At about 2040 eastern time, an amateur-built Fourwind 192 struck the Federal Reserve building in Miami. The two occupants, both pilots, were killed. The flight had departed Marathon, Fla., about 40 minutes earlier. As the airplane was transitioning north through the Miami Class B airspace and receiving VFR advisories from Approach, controllers saw it alter its course to the southeast without explanation. The controller failed to establish communications with the flight and it crashed into the building about three minutes later….

At 1957 eastern time, a Piper PA-32-300 crashed after losing engine power near Macon. The pilot and three passengers were killed, and one passenger suffered minor injuries. The pilot was on an IFR flight plan when he reported to controllers that he had smoke in the cockpit. He was given radar vectors to the nearest airport but reported he had lost engine power and could not make it to the airport. The controller told him of a nearby highway and the pilot said he was looking for it. The airplane struck trees on the way down….

At approximately 0954 central time, a Beech BE-58 crashed after an uncontrolled descent near Egypt, killing the pilot. The pilot was on an IFR flight plan from Cherokee Village, Ark., to Jonesboro, Ark., with a planned time en route of 35 minutes and six hours of fuel on board. His preflight weather briefing included reports of low ceilings and pilot reports of icing from 2,300 feet to 3,300 feet. There was also an Airmet for icing and turbulence. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported icing at 4,800 msl and requested a descent to 4,000, which was approved. A few minutes later, he asked for a deviation to land at Walnut Ridge Regional Airport and was cleared for an instrument approach into…

At about 1430 eastern time, a Cessna 172S was damaged during landing at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was landing on runway 23 with a crosswind of about 15 knots about 30 degrees right of the runway centerline. The airplane touched down hard and bounced five or six times before he performed a go-around. During the second landing attempt, the pilot experienced difficulty manipulating the airplanes controls. The airplane landed hard, veered off the right side of the runway and struck a snow bank. Post accident inspection found the outboard six inches of the propeller tips were curled aft and the upper part of the landing gear strut was pushed into…

At 1510 mountain time, the pilot of an amateur-built Lancair 235 lost control during an aborted landing on runway 24 at Payson Airport. The pilot was killed. A witness said the pilot had bought the airplane two days earlier and was planning to conduct fast taxi tests. On the second test, the airplane became airborne and the pilot departed the airport. Other witnesses said they saw the accident airplane make two approaches that culminated in go-arounds, and on each approach the airplane displayed pitch deviations. On the third approach, the airplane landed hard about 1,500 feet down the runway. It bounced into the air, landed back on the runway, and the engine powered up to abort the landing….

At about 1539 eastern time, a Beech 58 crashed after an approach to Page Field. The pilot and one passenger were killed. The flight had originated in St. Joseph, Mo., bound for Naples, Fla., with a fuel stop in Centerville, Ala. At Naples the pilot was cleared for the VOR 23 approach, but missed it. The pilot requested a diversion to Page Airport to shoot the ILS 5 approach. Radar information showed he was never established on the localizer. He missed the approach, verified the ILS frequency with controllers, and requested another try. He said he had flown the first approach on automatic and would make the second attempt on manual. The controller asked fuel status and the pilot reported…

At 2027 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-161 lost power on initial climb from Scottsdale Airport and crashed into a restaurant parking lot. The pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The flight originated at Mesa, Ariz., at 1815 and flew to Tucson. The return flight was to include a touch and go in Scottsdale and return to Mesa. He landed in Tucson and started the return leg without shutting down. On the takeoff out of Scottsdale, the airplane reached about 300 feet agl and the engine sputtered and quit. No fuel was found on the aircraft. The pilot reported that, before he departed, the fuel level was at or slightly below the tabs, which would be about 34 gallons. The operators policy i…