Aviation Safety

At 15:15 PST, a Cessna T210L crashed into a school building, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. Family members said the flight had originated at Watsonville, Calif., and was destined for Little River, Calif. Due to weather conditions at Little River, the pilot landed at Petaluma, Calif., for lunch and was returning to Watsonville at the time of the accident….

At approximately 11:00 CST, a Cessna 172N struck power lines during cruise flight in IMC. The non-instrument rated pilot and his passenger were killed. The flight originated at Ellington Field near Houston at 10:44. ATC records showed the pilot requested a southeast departure, and was cleared for takeoff. Ellington weather included scattered clouds at 400 feet and 1,600 feet, with reduced visibility to the south. A witness said he observed the airplane come out of the fog and hit a power line and tumble to the ground. The witness said he was unable to see the top of the tower supporting the power line due to the fog and low visibility. The accident occurred approximately 10 miles southeast…

About 19:02 EST, a Cessna 402B on a training flight was lost from radar and is presumed destroyed in Lake Okeechobee, about 12 miles northwest of the Pahokee Airport. The three occupants are presumed dead. The flight originated from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and proceeded directly to the Pahokee VOR, where it tracked outbound on the 334 radial (the instrument procedure for the VOR approach calls for the 342 radial). The last radar contact showed them at an altitude of 1,300 feet agl, 12 miles out along the 334-degree radial. Searchers recovered an airplanes nose cone, and a positive identification was made by the airlines chief operating officer….

At 12:30 EST, a Piper PA-28-140 collided with trees during a go-around from an emergency landing area near Aiken, according to the pilot. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The flight was en route from Suffolk, Va., to Crestview, Fla., with a refueling stop in Saluda, S.C. During the descent from 8,500 feet the engine lost power. The pilot selected a field for an emergency landing and, while on final approach to land, the engine regained full power. The pilot then elected to go-around, but struck trees on the departure end of the proposed emergency landing area. The pilot said the collision with the trees separated the left main landing gear assembly, and the right wing sustained…

At about 11:15 EST a Cessna 310R on a training flight was damaged when it departed the taxiway at the Sullivan County International Airport. No one was injured. The flight had originated in Teterboro, N.J., and was being taxied back to the runway for the return flight with the second pilot, who was in the left seat, at the controls. As the second pilot turned to the runway hold short line, he discovered there were no brakes. The instructor then took the controls and depressed his brakes with no result. The airplane continued to roll, veering to the right into a grass ditch about 20 feet from the taxiway. The airplane came to rest straddling the ditch while being supported by the nose and tai…

The following briefs were selected from the 192 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in August 2002. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed. Click here to view “Accident Totals, August.”

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August 01, Gypsum, Colo.
Piper Cherokee 180
At approximately 0855 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-180 crashed while maneuvering near Gypsum, killing one passenger and leaving the other three occupants seriously injured. A flight instructor departing behind the accident flight said the airplane used about 5,000 feet to become airbor…

At approximately 0855 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-180 crashed while maneuvering near Gypsum, killing one passenger and leaving the other three occupants seriously injured. A flight instructor departing behind the accident flight said the airplane used about 5,000 feet to become airborne, then began a slow climb toward rising terrain, where it maintained 200-300 feet agl. The airplane crashed about 19 miles from the airport at an elevation of about 10,050 feet msl and a density altitude of more than 13,000 feet….

At 1346 eastern time, a Cessna 182H ran off the departure end of runway 32 at Country Club Airport in Burnsville. The pilot and two passengers were not injured and one passenger received minor injuries. Witnesses said the pilot had attempted two approaches to land before the accident landing, finally touching down on the third try approximately 1000 feet from the departure end of the 2,875-foot runway. The airplane rolled off the departure end of the runway and down an embankment, and onto a dirt road….

At about 2030 eastern time, a Grumman American AA-5B crashed shortly after takeoff from Donegal Springs Airpark, killing the pilot and three passengers. Witnesses said the pilot had trouble starting the airplane and that engine power was intermittent during the takeoff and initial climb. The pilot had bought the airplane about three weeks earlier, and during his initial repositioning flight had experienced trouble starting the engine on at least two legs of the flight. One departure was delayed while the pilot had a mechanic clean and gap the spark plugs and verify magneto operation. Post-crash investigation found the top and bottom spark plugs of two cylinders were oil-soaked….

At 1415 Pacific time, a Beech 58TC crashed after aborting a landing on runway 4 at Catalina Airport. Both occupants were killed. According to the airport operations supervisor, the sky would clear enough for pilots to see the airport, and then the sky would become overcast again in a moment. Two airplanes that landed prior to the accident airplane used runway 22 after circling the airport for 20 minutes. Sky conditions became obscured for runway 22 and the accident airplane circled to land on runway 4. The supervisor said the pilot came in fast and hot and he advised the pilot to go around. Another pilot, a relative of the accident pilot, contacted the accident pilot and told him to go aro…