Aviation Safety

At approximately 11:18 PST, a Hiller UH-12E suffered an inflight separation of a control rotor, after which the helicopter struck power lines and crashed. The pilot and one passenger were seriously injured; a third occupant was not injured. The pilot said he was on a fish-spotting mission at about 400 feet when the helicopter began vibrating. He raised the collective and tried to increase RPM, but the control rotor then departed the aircraft and the vibration became so severe that he thought the engine would vibrate off of its mounts. The pilot reported that he was about 75 feet agl when he saw the power lines, but did not feel he had sufficient control authority to evade them. He maintained…

At about 12:00 EDT, a Cessna 150F crashed on takeoff from Currituck County Airport, killing the two occupants. Witnesses reported that the airplane was about 10 to 20 feet agl, just past the midfield of runway 04, with full flaps extended. It climbed to about 70 to 100 feet as it approached trees at the departure end of the runway and was well below the tree line. The aircraft then appeared to settle and entered a left spin, crashed and burned….

At 12:48 MDT, a Cessna 172R struck rising terrain at Independence Pass near Aspen. The pilot was killed and the two passengers were seriously injured. The airplane took off from Aspen and climbed toward the pass. A witness said the aircraft was flying slowly with a nose-high attitude when it struck terrain. The accident site was at 11,948 feet msl in a narrow valley. Density altitude at the site was calculated to be 14,100 feet msl at the time….

At about 08:50 EDT, a Cessna 150G crashed in IMC while on a VFR flight plan near Greeneville. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the pilot suffered minor injuries. The flight had originated from Blountville, Tenn., about 20 minutes earlier. The pilot said he became disoriented when he encountered the weather but regained control by flying by reference to instruments. He turned back to Blountville, where he believed the weather was better. While cruising in the clouds, he struck rising terrain….

At about 12:58 EST, a Cessna 150M lost power and suffered substantial damage in a forced landing near Jacksonville. The CFI and the student pilot aboard were not injured. The flight originated from Myrtle Beach, S.C., 1:28 before the accident. The CFI said the student pilot preflighted the airplane and determined the fuel tanks were full before departing on a cross country flight from Jacksonville to Myrtle Beach. They did not purchase fuel in Myrtle Beach and were returning to Jacksonville when the CFI noticed the fuel gauges were near empty. He asked the student pilot again if the fuel tanks were full when they departed OAJ, and he replied they were. The airplane was at 3,500 feet when the…

At about 15:50 EST, a Cessna 152 crashed during takeoff from a private grass strip in Rising Sun. The two CFIs aboard were uninjured. One CFI was giving a biennial flight review to the other. After about 15 minutes of performing maneuvers in the local practice area, the pilots decided to perform touch-and-goes at a nearby private grass strip. They determined the winds were from the northwest at 5-10 knots and landed on runway 31. The strip sloped uphill, with power lines at the departure end and trees at the approach end. The flying CFI tried to make a short-field takeoff but the other CFI aborted the attempt. The flying CFI then taxied to the end of the strip and tried to take off in the op…

At 13:20 PDT, a Cessna 172P and an RV-6A collided in mid-air about six miles east of Pangborn Memorial Airport. Both aircraft received minor damage but the two occupants of the Cessna and the pilot of the RV-6A were uninjured. The Cessna had departed from Wenatchee about one hour prior to the collision for the local instructional flight and the RV-6A had just taken off from Wenatchee. The Cessna was on the VOR-A approach to Wenatchee, inbound on the 285 degree radial and near the final approach fix. The instructor was just about to announce their location and intentions on the Unicom frequency. The pilot of the RV-6A reported that he had announced his departure from runway 30 on Unicom, made…

At 17:56 CDT, a Cessna Cardinal was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Austin. Neither occupant was injured. The flight had originated from Austin about two hours earlier. The pilot said the fuel gauges indicated about half full prior to takeoff. An FAA inspector found both fuel tanks were empty after the forced landing….

At 11:15 PDT, a Bell 206-L4 piloted by actor Harrison Ford landed hard and rolled over in the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita. The helicopter was substantially damaged but the two occupants were uninjured. The flight instructor reported that he and the trainee were practicing autorotations to a power recovery in the dry riverbed. On the second attempt, the trainee flared about 150 to 200 feet agl and attempted to bring in power to initiate the power recovery, but the power did not come back in time to recover to a hovering position. The helicopter landed hard and slid forward in the loose sand. The left skid struck a log and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. No pre-acciden…

At 14:40 PDT, a Cessna Cardinal crashed in a box canyon approximately 10 miles southeast of the Boulder City airport. The flight instructor was seriously injured and the pilot was killed. The pilot and his son had just purchased the airplane. The son had taken a familiarization flight with the CFI earlier in the day that included a 360-degree turn in the same box canyon and noted no discrepancies with the airplane. The crew of a police helicopter that responded to the scene reported swirling winds in the box canyon during their approach. The helicopter was flown in what they believed was a similar pattern to the accident airplane and the helicopter completed the turn over the wreckage….