Aviation Safety

At 18:30 CDT, a Pitts S-1-11B biplane was substantially damaged following a loss of control while executing a precautionary landing following an engine/propeller overspeed near Katy. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he had been operating in the aerobatic box above the airport for about 15 minutes. He had performed a hammerhead stall and the propeller and engine oversped, so he elected to make a precautionary landing on runway 27. He said he touched down about mid-field and applied brakes to exit the runway but the left brake failed. The airplane ground looped and came to rest inverted. The inspector verified that the master cylinder for the left brake had failed, and braking was not…

At about 01:50 EST, a Boeing 767-366-ER operating a Egyptair flight 990, a scheduled international flight from New York to Cairo, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles south of Nantucket Island, Mass., killing all 217 aboard….

At 17:15 PST, an amateur-built Questair Venture came to rest inverted on runway 25 following a landing accident at the Auburn airport. The pilot/owner suffered serious injuries. The IFR flight originated from McMinnville, Ore., but the pilot canceled the IFR flight plan before arriving at Auburn. A weather reporting station about 60 miles away reported winds from 340 at 14, gusting to 18. A witness said the Questair landed approximately halfway down the runway, but then he lost sight of it. Then a pilot in the pattern reported the accident at the departure end of runway 25. The ground witness reported the winds were only 4 to 5 knots, but the pilot said he had to hold a significant crab unti…

At about 10:00, EST, a Cessna 150 suffered substantial damage during a forced landing. The pilot was not injured. The pilot completed three touch and goes before departing the traffic pattern. While climbing through 900 feet msl, the engine started running rough. The pilot applied carburetor heat but the problem persisted. Unable to maintain altitude, the pilot selected a field for a forced landing and then the engine failed completely. The airplane touched down smoothly, but encountered rising terrain and the nose gear collapsed. Investigators found that the fuel tank vents were blocked by mud deposited by insects and the carburetor bowl was empty. The inspector removed the filler caps from…

At about 10:23 EST, a Piper PA-44-180 and a Piper PA-28-161, both on instructional flights, collided near the departure end of runway 5 at the Deland Municipal Airport. The pilot and instructor in each plane were killed. The Warrior, part of Embry-Riddles fleet, had received a VFR clearance from Daytona Beach controllers for a flight to Leesburg, but apparently began flying traffic patterns on runway 5 in Deland after radar service was terminated with Daytona Beach Tower. The Seminole also left Daytona Beach on a local IFR clearance to perform a practice VOR 23 approach at Deland, to be followed by NDB and ILS approaches. After the Seminole was cleared for the VOR approach, the pilot cancel…

At approximately 15:20 MST, a Bellanca 17-30 disappeared from radar near Creede. The pilot and his passenger are presumed dead. The meteorological conditions are unknown. The flight originated from Colorado Springs about 50 minutes earlier, but no flight plan was filed. Family members said the flight was headed to Las Vegas. The last radar contact of what is believed to be the missing airplane showed an altitude of 14,700 feet msl. It has not been determined if the airplane was equipped with supplemental oxygen….

At approximately 08:25 MDT, a Piper PA-28-181 Archer crashed in the mountains 10 miles northwest of Villa Grove. The flight instructor and commercial pilot getting instruction were killed. The accident airplane was one in a flight of three being used to train FBI pilots in mountain flying techniques. The other two FBI pilots said they came through Hayden Pass and turned north, to an area where they would practice turning around in blind canyons. One pilot said he and his flight instructor performed three types of exit maneuvers in their Cessna 172. The other pilot said he and his instructor, also flying in a Cessna 172, were discussing the exit maneuvers when they noticed the Archer had cras…

At 20:20 CST, a Beechcraft 200 ran off the end of the runway and into Lake Michigan during a failed takeoff attempt from runway 18 Meigs Field. The two pilots and one passenger were killed. The controller said the pilot called for taxi and said they were VFR to South Bend. Winds were calm, so the controller gave the pilot his choice of runways and the pilot requested runway 18. The airplane back-taxied onto the overrun for runway 18 and began the takeoff run. The controller said the plane had not rotated three-quarters of the way down the 3,900-foot runway. A witness on the ramp said the airplane didnt sound like most King Airs do at that point. The witness described the engine sound as…

At about 11:05 MDT, a homebuilt RV-4 crashed while maneuvering about six miles northeast of Bayfield. The pilot and passenger were killed. A friend in another RV-4 said the two pilots had planned to go to Durango and back as a flight of two airplanes. He took off first, and the accident airplane departed shortly thereafter. During the return, he radioed the accident airplane but got no response. He circled back and found the wreckage of the second airplane. Several witnesses said the two airplanes were flying at low altitude, with the accident airplane lower. One witness said he saw the accident airplane perform a barrel roll, immediately followed by a vertical loop. A witness on the propert…

At 1733 CDT, a Swearingen SA-227-AC was substantially damaged when it landed gear-up at San Antonio International Airport. The instructor and commercial pilot student were not injured. The student was undergoing first officer training for the Swearingen SA-227-AC. The pilots stated that they were completing the last approach and landing for the flight. The instructor told the student to execute a no flap landing due to a simulated hydraulic pump failure. The student established the airplane on the approach and called for the Emergency Gear Extension Checklist. The instructor stated that the gear could not be extended until landing was assured. The landing gear was not extended. The stude…