Aviation Safety

At 09:37 EDT, a homebuilt Long EZ crashed on approach to Potomac Airfield, seriously injuring the pilot. The airplane departed Clinton, Md., at about 08:30 for a planned flight to Macon, Ga., and was later seen north of Potomac Airfield flying low. The accident airplane appeared to enter a right base for runway 24. The airplane overshot the runway, then turned back and entered a left base for the same runway. A witness said it overshot the final approach course, but corrected with a steep turn, and continued making S turns down final approach. As the aircraft got lower, it pitched up and apparently stalled into trees about 200 yards short of the runway. The airplanes canopy was not fo…

At about 20:15 EDT, a homebuilt Acro Sport II crashed near Pence Springs, W.V. The student pilot operating the airplane was seriously injured and his son, a passenger, was killed. A witness at the Hinton-Alderson Airport said the pilot made one takeoff and one landing before taxiing back to pickup his 15-year-old son. Witnesses who where fishing along the Greenbrier River reported that the airplane approached the accident site from the northeast and started to execute a loop. Halfway through the loop the airplane entered a spin, which continued until the airplane struck the ground….

At 08:15 MST, a Cessna 182Q crashed short of the runway at a private airstrip near St. David. The pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The pilot said he carried an extra 5 knots during final because of gusty winds. When he flared to land, the aircraft experienced a greater than normal sink rate. He tried to arrest the sink with pitch and power, but the aircraft touched down short of the runway, which sits 3 feet higher than the land surrounding it. When the aircraft touched down the nose gear struck that rise and was torn off. The aircraft flipped inverted….

At approximately 10:19 MDT, a Beech V35A crashed into mountains during cruise flight and the pilot is presumed dead. The aircraft departed Lees Summit, Mo. at approximately 06:00 CST and was en route to Kremmling, Colo. IMC prevailed but no flight plan was filed. The pilot was instructed by Denver Approach to contact Denver Center but failed to do so. The aircraft was located along the north face of Arapaho Peak at about 14:30 the following afternoon. The aircraft impacted mountainous terrain at an elevation of 12,500 feet. A witness said he heard a plane flying overhead traveling low to the ground. He looked up but was unable to see the aircraft due to the low cloud layer. He stated that a…

At about 15:45 EDT, the pilot and a passenger in a Piper Cherokee died when it crashed after takeoff from the Central Jersey Regional Airport. A witness said he was at the FBO at about 15:10 when the pilot requested maintenance support over the radio. He went to assist and the pilot told him the starter would not engage. After assessing the situation, the witness realized that the pilot did not know how to operate the starter. After he explained the procedure, the starter engaged. The witness briefed his next student and soon the witness and his student taxied to the run-up area behind the accident airplane. After becoming airborne, the accident airplane assumed a 10 to 15 degree climb attit…

At about 09:44 EDT, a Piper Comanche made a gear-up landing at Page Field. The pilot and a passenger were not injured. The pilot said he had a green light indicating his landing gear were down and locked. Tower controllers reported there were three or four times in the recent past when they had to remind the pilot of the airplane to lower his landing gear for landing….

At about 12:50 EDT, the propeller of a Nanchang CJ-6 struck the pilot/owner after the engine started while he was rotating the propeller by hand. The pilot was preparing the engine for start. The pilot reported that the radial engine on his airplane was susceptible to hydraulic lock if not started within 40 minutes from shutdown. The propeller needed to be pulled through in order to start. After shutting off all the valves and switches, the pilot went to rotate the propeller. He stated that the propeller had not even rotated 90 degrees when the engine fired and started. The pilot said he forgot to turn off the magneto switch….

At 09:30 CDT, a Cessna 172D suffered a hard landing following an aborted takeoff from a grass airstrip near Jonesboro. The four people aboard were not injured. The pilot reported that she had planned a local orientation flight for three EAA Young Eagles. The pilot said the takeoff roll was slightly longer than expected and that, at approximately 20 to 25 feet agl, she became concerned that the airplane might not be able to clear the power lines at the departure end of the airstrip. She elected to abort the takeoff, and the airplane landed hard on the left side of the runway. A mechanic noted that the aircrafts propeller had been recently changed from a climb prop to a cruise prop….

At 08:54 MST, a Cessna 172P collided with a HOAC 36R Super Dimona while both aircraft were on landing approach at Falcon Field. Both pilots were able to land their aircraft. The pilot of the sailplane reported that they had just departed on runway 4R and intended to remain in the pattern to practice touch-and-go landings. He said the tower told him to expect to follow a Cessna taking off on runway 4L and to continue upwind and the tower would call his crosswind leg. He recalled seeing another Cessna which entered downwind from the 45 and recalled following that aircraft but doesnt recall ever seeing a Cessna departing off 4L or the tower directing his attention to that aircraft after takeof…

At 13:05 CDT, a Cessna 414 was substantially damaged when its gear collapsed at the Springdale Municipal Airport. The three occupants were not injured. The pilot told investigators he heard a small bump as the aircraft lifted off the runway at Springdale, but that it didnt concern him. When he cycled the landing gear up, however, there was a loud bang as the gear locked in the up position. He continued to Danville as planned but, during the approach, the right main gear green light did not illuminate. When he cycled the landing gear there was another loud bang. He contacted Memphis Center and advised them of his situation. Memphis requested that he fly by the Fayetteville control tower…