Aviation Safety

Between 20:16 and 21:24 PST, a Cessna 150J crashed while approaching the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport, killing the pilot. Dark night VMC prevailed. The flight originated from Atwater, Calif., about 26 miles from Mariposa. Between 20:10 and 20:15, another pilot departed the Mariposa Airport and later reported that he heard the accident pilot, whose voice he recognized, make several radio calls on the local Unicom frequency. The accident pilot reported that he was approaching the field for landing and transmitted again when he was entering the downwind leg and turning onto a left base leg for runway 26….

At approximately 14:25 CST, a Pietenpol Aircamper homebuilt airplane was substantially damaged when it struck a power line while maneuvering. The pilot was seriously injured. Witnesses said the airplane was maneuvering at low altitude. A nearby resident reported hearing the sound of the airplane engine flying near his residence. He said the sound of the engine stopped about the same time that his home lost electrical power. The resident went outside and observed that the single powerline servicing his home was down on the ground and the remains of the wood and fabric airplane had come to rest about 200 feet beyond the point where the wire was severed….

About 17:40 EST, a Eurocopter EC-135-P1 operating as a news helicopter for a local television station crashed into the Passaic River. The pilot and the camera operator received minor injuries. The flight used a radio call sign of Chopper 4. The flight had passed over the ILS localizer final approach course for Runway 22L at Newark when the pilot transmitted, May Day, May Day, Chopper 4 is… About 5 seconds later, the pilot transmitted, May Day, May Day, our engines are out, were going down. Another news helicopter followed Chopper 4, recorded the forced landing on video, and reported the helicopter was down in the river. The pilot received a head injury and had no direct memory of the…

At about 11:36 EST, a Piper Turbo Lance struck trees shortly after takeoff from the Medina Municipal Airport. The pilot and two passengers, all agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were seriously injured. The airplane landed at Medina at about 11:00 for fuel. While it was being fueled, a heavy snow squall began. A pickup truck arrived and baggage and gear were loaded into the airplane. A witness said a passenger swept the airplanes wings, but did not see him sweep the T-tailed horizontal stabilizer. When the flight was ready to depart, the occupants brushed snow off the wings again and boarded the airplane. The winds were from the east at 8-10 knots but the airplane depart…

At about 12:20 CST, a Miller/Bell TR-1 amateur-built experimental airplane was substantially damaged when it struck a building during a forced landing near Hiwasse. The two occupants, who built and owned the airplane, were not injured. The pilot told investigators that approximately 45 minutes into the flight the engine noise changed and the oil pressure gauge indicated zero. The pilot elected to make a precautionary landing on a road adjacent to a field and a poultry-house, but during the landing flare the wind pushed the aircraft into the side of the poultry-house. The pilot said that a post-accident inspection revealed that the connector for the oil cooler inlet line had backed off, all…

At 09:34, a Beech Baron crashed following an in-flight encounter with weather while on an instrument approach near Newcastle. The pilot was killed. The IFR flight originated from Idabel, Okla., with an intended destination of Max Westheimer Airport, in Norman. Control tower personnel at Westheimer said the pilot established radio contact with them at 09:32 while the airplane was inbound for the runway 03 localizer approach. About a minute later, the airplane was observed on radar about one mile north of the final approach course. The pilot reported that he was not going to be able to continue the approach. When asked his intentions, the 4,300-hour pilot replied I am going to stay right here…

At 11:35 CST, a Beech 1900D was substantially damaged by an in-flight collision with a Canadian goose. No people were injured, but the goose was cooked. The Skyway Airlines flight was 24 miles from its destination at 2,900 feet when it encountered a flock of 20 to 30 Canadian geese. One goose struck the outboard leading edge of the right wing, puncturing the leading edge and rupturing the fuel tank. The crew shut down the right engine, declared an emergency and completed the flight to General Mitchell International….

At 15:55 CST, an amateur-built Staros SA 260 aerobatic airplane was destroyed when a fire erupted in-flight. The pilot was seriously injured after a low-altitude bail-out. The pilot told witnesses that he was at the top of an aerobatic maneuver, heard a loud bang and the airplane entered a slip. The pilot stated that fuel began to spray onto him. Witnesses reported that the pilot bailed out of the single engine airplane at approximately 400 feet agl and the parachute opened at tree-top level. An inspector found that the parachute and pilots apparel, including his sunglasses and gloves, were charred and melted….

At about 05:50 EST, a pilot was killed while hand-propping a Beech C35 at London-Corbin Airport-MaGee Field. A witness heard an engine start, then quit. He then heard it crank a few more times. He looked out the door of his office, and saw the pilot get out of his airplane. The witness began to walk toward the airplane, when he saw the pilot begin to hand-prop it. The engine fired, and the propeller spun, hitting the pilot….

At about 15:30 EST, a student pilot flying a Taylorcraft BC12-D was killed when the airplane collided with trees during landing practice at Greenville Municipal Airport. A witness who was flying in the airport traffic pattern at the time said the accident airplane touched down in a grassy landing area to the right of paved runway 15. It then veered to the left, crossed the paved runway and headed for the wide open space of a turf cross runway. Then, instead of continuing straight toward the cross runway, the airplane made a climbing left turn. The airplane then leveled off and hit trees. The student pilot was 79 years old, and had 109 total flight hours. He had some initial flight training…