Aviation Safety

At 10:16 PST, a Cessna 182Q crashed during takeoff from Fallbrook Community Airpark. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. A witness said the pilot taxied from his hangar to the departure end of runway 18 and did not perform a pretakeoff engine run-up or cycle the propeller. The airplane took off and climbed to about 300 feet, at which point the engine quit. The aircraft cleared utility lines that ran along the airport boundary then pitched forward, impacting the ground in a nose-low attitude. Investigators found the fuel selector handle slightly displaced from the both position and the fuel boost pump switch in the off position. Fuel was found in the line immediate…

At 15:35 PDT, a Vans RV-6A dragged the left wing tip while turning from base to final for runway 20 at Sacramento Executive Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot told investigators he had been cleared for a short approach in front of another airplane that was on a straight-in approach. He stated that as he turned from base to final over the runway, the left wing tip struck the pavement. The airplane then struck the runway, shearing off the nose gear and collapsing the main gear….

At about 17:30 CST, a Cessna 150H crashed in Dandridge, seriously injuring the pilot. The pilot experienced engine trouble and elected to return to his private airstrip. He was maneuvering to approach the strip when he concluded that he didnt have enough altitude. He set up to land on a road when he saw a vehicle in the road, so he opted to land in the trees. He said that at treetop level he stalled the airplane and let it fall tail first into the trees. The empennage broke off and the airplane fell nose first to the ground….

At approximately 16:30 MST, a Piper PA-18-150 was damaged during a forced landing near Belen. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot had just been issued his private certificate the morning of the accident flight and was taking his brother for a ride. The pilot said the engine lost power shortly after he took off from an open field….

At 09:30 CDT, a Learjet 35A operating as a training flight crashed near Marianna, killing the crew of two and a commercial pilot in the jump seat. The airplane had departed from Opa Locka, Fla., more than an hour earlier for the left-seat pilot to retake a Learjet type rating checkride he had failed several days earlier. The pilot was on an IFR flight plan in VMC when he canceled his IFR flight plan over the VOR, and reported the airport in sight. The distance from the VOR to the airport was 4 miles. Several witnesses saw the airplane enter right traffic at a low altitude for a landing on runway 36. The airplane was seen turning right from base to final, at which point it pitched nose high,…

At about 14:35 EST, a Cessna 310D and a Beech A36 collided while approaching to land on runway 07 at Witham Field. The pilot of the 310 and the two occupants of the Bonanza were uninjured. An IFR flight plan was on file for the Bonanza and visual conditions existed. The pilot of the 310 skirted the class C airspace at Palm Beach and was told to report a four-mile right base for runway 7. Then he was cleared for the visual approach. He reported hearing Witham Tower clear the Bonanza for the GPS runway 12 approach. After he was established on final at about 800 feet, he heard a loud noise and saw the Bonanza on his right. He landed and found the fuel cap of the left wing tip tank was missing,…

At 18:25 CST, a Cessna 152 struck railroad tracks during an aborted landing near Fort Worth. The solo student pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was doing touch and goes at Hicks Airfield when he overshot the turn to final. When he recovered, the airplane touched down on the right main, bounced to the left main and turned 45 degrees to the runway. He added full power to go around, but the left wing struck a tree and the airplane crashed onto railroad tracks….

At approximately 07:30 CDT, an Ayres S2R-G6 agricultural airplane lost power and made a forced landing near Pioneer. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The pilot said the engine spooled down during the pass over the field and he diverted to an adjacent open field for the forced landing, during which the airplane nosed over. Maintenance records showed aircraft total time as 3,446 hours, with a reported 8,395 flight hours on the Garrett TPE 331 engine since the last major overhaul. Total flight time since a hot section and gearbox change was 793 hours….

At about 06:40 EST, a Boeing 737-3B7 operated by U.S. Airways had a flight attendant-initiated evacuation after pushback from the gate. No one was injured. U.S. Airways reported that the No. 2 engine had been bore scoped the night before and its ignition circuit breakers were pulled. The crew attempted to start the engine after pushback for the first flight of the day but was unable to. The maintenance crew told the crew to check the circuit breakers, which had not been reset. The crew started the engine and flames shot out the back. A nonrevenue flight attendant seated in the aft cabin saw the flames and told the flight attendant on duty in the back of the airplane that the engine was on fi…

At approximately 09:50 MST, a Cessna 421B crashed while maneuvering near Telluride. IMC prevailed but the pilot was not instrument rated and had not filed a flight plan. The flight had departed Montrose, Colo., approximately 30 minutes before the accident, en route to El Paso, Texas. The family reported the pilot missing on Jan. 4, and the airplane was located at approximately 14:30 on Jan. 6….