Aviation Safety

At about 14:30 EST, a Cessna TR182 departed the runway during its takeoff roll at Haysfield Airport. The pilot and two passengers sustained minor injures. Tracks on the 2,400-foot grass runway indicate the airplane tracked down the centerline about 600 to 1,000 feet, then departed to the left, where the aircraft hit several trees. The pilot said he maneuvered the airplane to avoid two or three deer he saw enter the runway from the right….

At 14:06 PDT, United Airlines Boeing 737 encountered turbulence at FL270 near Santa Barbara, injuring one flight attendant seriously. Another flight attendant and 11 passengers sustained minor injuries. The flight had just leveled at FL270 and was crossing the San Marcus VOR when the turbulence was encountered. The aircraft was 10 miles in trail of the preceding aircraft on that route when the event occurred. No significant weather was forecast on the high altitude prognostic charts….

At 11:45 PDT, a Beech Bonanza struck an embankment during takeoff from a private grass strip near White Swan. The pilot and two passengers were seriously injured and a third passenger was killed. Witnesses said the ground roll and takeoff appeared normal but that the airplane did not climb more than about four feet. Investigators noted that the southern half of the 2,400-foot grass strip was moist and soft, while the north end half was firm and dry. The aircraft had begun the takeoff roll from the south end. One of the owners of the airstrip reported that the airstrip is watered frequently and cut once a week on Friday or Saturday. The accident occurred on a Thursday….

At about 11:53 EDT, a Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six crashed shortly after takeoff from Westerly State Airport. The pilot and two passengers died and two other passengers were seriously injured. The flight was a scheduled Part 135 flight to Block Island. Several witnesses heard the aircraft take off, and two reported the engine stopped abruptly before the Piper crashed about 200 feet from the departure end of the runway. Preliminary investigation revealed no reason for the apparent loss of power….

At about 03:25 EDT, a Beech B-90 King Air crashed on approach to Palm Beach International Airport. All eight occupants were killed. The flight had originated at 23:32 from Pontiac, Mich., enroute to Boca Raton, Fla. The flight plan called for a time enroute of five hours and listed fuel on board at six hours. At 03:14 the pilot made initial contact with the Palm Beach controllers and was told no weather information was available for Boca Raton. At 03:23 the pilot asked to land at PBI and was cleared from 6,000 feet to 1,500 feet. The pilot reported the airport in sight and was cleared for a visual approach. At 03:25:27, a radio transmission from the flight said, …Alpha Sierra, we need, ah…

At 18:30 EDT, a Mooney M20J lost power and crashed near Gainesville. The pilot and two passengers were killed. The flight had departed Atlanta and witnesses said the airplane was in level flight approximately 2,000 feet above the ground when the engine lost power, regained it, and possibly lost power again. The pilot apparently tried to stretch the glide to a paved road in a newly developed subdivision but stalled the airplane and spiraled nose-down into the ground about 200 feet short of the road….

At about 17:00 EST, an amateur-built Rocket II crashed into the Everglades after losing power. The pilot was killed and the passenger suffered serious injuries. The flight originated from Fort Lauderdale about 1:39 before the accident. The airplane was reported missing the next day and located that afternoon. The passenger stated they departed FLL at about 15:20. The final destination was Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, but the pilot decided to fly out over the Everglades and then return to FXE. They were flying in the vicinity of Willard Fish Camp at about 250 feet when the engine lost power. The pilot pulled back on the control stick to gain altitude and the airplane stalled. The injure…

At approximately 11:20 PST, a Piper PA-18-150 clipped a power line during an emergency landing on the Crowley Ranch. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The pilot said he heard a loud pop and a fire started in the aircraft. The pilot elected to make an emergency landing in a nearby field, but clipped a power line while on final approach. This resulted in the aircraft landing hard and both main gear collapsing. After the pilot exited the aircraft, it was almost completely consumed by fire. The pilot reported that the aircrafts alternator had not been charging the battery for a couple of months and that he had taken it to a couple of shops that had not been able to solve the problem….

At about 13:45 EST, the pilot of an amateur-built Sea Hawk lost control during high-speed taxi tests and inadvertent flight after the engine quit. The pilot was not injured. The aircraft had not been flown in several years. The pilot performed several high speed taxi runs. Later that afternoon, the pilot wanted to perform the same taxi tests, using different increments of flaps. The pilot taxied about a third of the way down the runway, applied power and the airplane lifted about 10 feet off the ground. Then the engine quit and the airplane descended to the left. The engine then regained power, and the pilot decided to land. During the landing, the airplane made numerous contacts with the gr…

At 23:31 MST, a Cessna T210L on a Part 135 cargo flight crashed about 11 miles west of Elida, killing the pilot. The pilot was en route from Albuquerque, N.M., to Lubbock, Texas, and was cleared to descend from 13,000 feet to 11,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, he reported he was picking up some ice, and wanted to descend to 9,000 feet. After some delay, he was cleared to descend. After a while the controller told the pilot, Youve reversed direction, and asked, Whats going on? The pilot replied he was losing [his] instruments. The controller advised the pilot of an airport at 5 oclock if you need to get down. The pilot said he needed to get down, and he was instructed to turn to a…