Aviation Safety

At 14:05 CDT, a Piper PA-34-200T porpoised on the runway during an aborted takeoff at Hobby Airport, substantially damaging the airplane but leaving the pilot uninjured. One witness said the airplane was airborne when the pilot reduced power, causing the aircraft to begin porpoising from nose to mains down the runway, culminating with a prop strike. Another witness said, Approximately halfway down runway 17 I heard him pull power, at which time the aircraft began porpoising progressively worse. Prop strikes occurred as he maintained directional control down the runway….

At about 18:08 EST, the pilot of an experimental Zenair 601 lost control on landing rollout and crashed at Kissimmee Municipal Airport. The two occupants were uninjured. The flight originated from Winter Haven, Fla., about one hour eight minutes before the accident. The pilot said he departed on a local flight and became disoriented and lost as it got dark. He observed a city in the distance and flew toward it, figuring he could find an airport. As he approached the city, he saw a runway and entered left base without contacting the control tower. He lost directional control of the airplane on touchdown and the airplane went off the side of the runway and collided with a barricade….

At approximately 19:45 MST, a Beech A36 made a hard landing at the Provo Municipal Airport. The pilot, who was not injured, said the airplane bounced once on landing. Inspection showed the nose landing gear strut was broken off and driven up into the firewall….

At 11:45 EDT, a Taylorcraft BC12D-4-85 on floats sank after landing on Saint Jeromes Creek. The pilot and the aviation safety inspector administering the seaplane rating test were not injured. The pilot and examiner agreed that the airplane touched down left float first and then the airplane abruptly pivoted left and sank. The examiner said the pilot touched down slightly flat and appeared to relax the controls a bit as the aircraft touched down. Post accident examination of the floats revealed heavy corrosion on some of the mounting bolts. The mounts and some crosstube segments were retained for examination….

At about 18:02 EST, a Dassault DA-900 overran the runway at Barnstable Municipal airport The four occupants were uninjured but two occupants of motor vehicles on a public road were slightly injured. The PIC said the crew briefed the VOR runway 6 approach prior to departing LGA. When they arrived at HYA they discovered the weather was below minimums for the VOR approach. Winds at the time were from 020 at 21, gusting to 34. The PIC requested the ILS Runway 24 approach and decided to land the airplane if the braking action was reported as fair and discontinue the approach if it was reported as poor. He said the controller reported braking as either fair to poor or poor to fair. He landed a…

At about 21:46 EST, a Cessna 172R crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 4.1 miles east of St. Augustine Airport. The pilot was killed. The flight originated from Orlando, Fla., an hour and a half before the accident. The pilot contacted Jacksonville Approach at 21:41:51 and requested VFR flight following to Craig Municipal Airport. At 21:45:24, the airplane was observed on radar at 2,000 feet heading 013 degrees. At 21:45:51, the airplane was observed at 1200 feet heading 051 degrees. The pilot stated at 21:46:00, Ah, Jax, I do not see anything. The airplane went off radar at 21:46:01 and radio contact was lost….

At about 08:41 EST, a Piper PA-28-151 lost power after takeoff and crashed during the ensuing forced landing. The flight instructor and two passengers were seriously injured. The flight was an introductory flight lesson for a prospective student and his mother. The flight instructor said the engine lost power when the airplane was about 150 to 200 feet above the ground. With no suitable landing areas beyond the end of the runway, the instructor elected to turn back toward the airport. After completing more than 90 degrees of turn, the right wing struck a light pole and the airplane cartwheeled. Initial examination of the engine failed to determine the cause of power loss….

At approximately 06:30 PST, a Cessna 150G struck power lines during an attempted emergency landing on the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 about four miles north of Marysville. The unlicensed pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed. The owner of the airplane said it had been stolen from Arlington Municipal Airport about three to four minutes prior to the accident. Witnesses saw the aircraft descending toward the west about two miles south of Arlington Airport. As it came over the highway, it descended toward the southbound lanes like it was going to land. The airplane struck power lines about 45 feet high and dove steeply to the ground….

At 13:00 EDT, a Cessna 150M struck a jet blast fence while on final approach to runway 21 at the Leesburg Municipal Airport. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries. Witnesses said the airplane appeared to be low on the approach and the nose gear struck the concrete blast fence. The nose gear folded back and the airplane struck the runway nose-low and slid to a stop….

At approximately 13:50 PDT, a Beech A200 suffered a collapsed main landing gear on landing roll at Boeing Field. There were no injuries. The flight returned to its departure airport after experiencing a total electrical failure shortly after departure. The pilot said both DC generator caution lights illuminated on the aircrafts annunciator panel. He declared an emergency and turned back toward Boeing Field. He lowered the gear manually, but the gear collapsed on rollout. The pilot could not recall placing the engine ignition/start switches OFF at the completion of the engine start sequence, as required. The aircrafts battery failed a capacity check in the as-found condition, but subseque…