Aviation Safety

At 14:00 CDT, a Luscombe 8C crashed while attempting an aborted takeoff from Scholes Field Airport. The pilot was not injured. Investigators determined the pilot departed runway 17 with the co-pilots seatbelt wrapped around the co-pilots flight control. The pilot attempted to land on the remaining runway but the right main landing gear collapsed, damaging the right wing. Then the left main landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over….

About 11:06 Hawaiian standard time, an experimental modified Convair BT-13A struck a palm tree while filming a movie on Ford Island. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane had been modified to resemble a Japanese Val dive-bomber. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was the number 3 wingman of a group of three flying in a modified V formation making a low pass over a movie set. The pilots preflight briefing called for wingmen number 2 and 3 to stack up (above) on flight leader number 1. At the termination of the low pass over the movie set, the number 3 airplanes left wing collided with a 40-foot-tall palm tree, severing the outboard 18 feet of the wing….

At 09:32 EST, a Cessna T310R struck a fence after an aborted takeoff from Robertson Field Airport. Neither occupant was injured. The pilot said he and his passenger arrived at the airport at 08:00, and that snow was falling during the drive to the airport. The airplane had been preheated before his arrival, and the airplane started and taxied into position to await its IFR clearance. During the takeoff roll and before reaching midfield, the door popped open and the pilot decided to abort the takeoff. The pilot said that braking initially was good but, as he neared the end of the 3,600-foot runway, he was unable to stop or steer. A flight instructor who witnessed the accident reported braking…

At about 15:50 EST, a Mooney M20C crashed during a forced landing after losing power near Andrews. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The flight departed Richmond, Va., for Knoxville, Tenn., about 2 hours 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot said he saw that possible icing conditions existed as he neared his destination, so he canceled his IFR flight plan to make a visual landing. He was about 70 miles south of his destination when the engine suddenly stopped….

At 06:03 PST, a Cessna 150J struck a guide wire on a radio tower near Redwood City. The pilot was killed. The pilot, who used his plane to commute to work, departed Sacramento for San Carlos Airport. A witness said he watched the accident airplane fly directly over his house to the northeast, away from the airport. The witness, who held a commercial rating, said the airplane was approximately 300 to 400 feet agl and flying at cruise power below a fog bank. Another witness heard the crash. The Redwood City Fire Department responded to the scene and had to initiate a foot search for the airplane due to the dense fog in the area. They said that they initially were unable to see any part of the…

At about 12:35 EST, a Mooney M20M was damaged when it made a forced landing shortly after takeoff from Edward F. Knapp State Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said that a few minutes after takeoff the engine stopped developing full manifold pressure, then the engine lost all oil pressure. The engine began to vibrate, so the pilot shut it down and landed in a field. Examination showed the engines crankshaft seal had been blown outward. Ice was observed in the engine crankcase breather line….

At 14:33 CST, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-26A crashed after takeoff from the San Antonio International Airport. The pilot and passenger were killed. During the takeoff and initial climb, witnesses heard a banging noise and saw the right propeller stop. The airplane reached an altitude of approximately 200 feet agl, banked to the right, entered a nose-low attitude and descended into the ground. The airplane came to rest in a vacant lot one mile north of the airport….

At about 20:03 PDT, a Beech D35 cruised into upsloping mountainous terrain about three miles east/northeast of Agua Dulce, killing the pilot. An acquaintance of the pilot said the pilot intended to fly east to Chandler, Ariz. The accident site is located about a half-mile north of California Hwy 14, which reaches its peak elevation of 3,225 feet msl in the Soledad Pass. The accident sites elevation is about 3,600 feet msl. Nearby weather reports showed a ceiling of 3,200 to 3,400 feet msl….

At 15:00 MST, the pilot of a Cessna 210E lost control while landing at Glendale Municipal Airport. Two passengers received minor injuries and the pilot was uninjured. The pilot said he was attempting to land on runway 01 when the aircraft began drifting to the right. He added full power to go around, but the aircraft struck a berm located about 1,000 feet east of the runway and 1,000 feet north of the runway threshold. The aircraft was found with the gear extended and full flaps. The pilot had received his private pilot certificate six months earlier….

At 07:30 EST, a Piper PA-38-112 lost power near Alma and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot reported minor injuries. The airplane had departed the Chippewa County International Airport at about 05:05 and was en route to Alma. The pilot said he had flown from Alma to Chippewa County the previous day and did not refuel the aircraft prior to the accident flight. The pilot admitted to investigators that he did not calculate total fuel consumption for the trip. The pilot made a forced landing in a snow-covered field and the airplane nosed over after striking a fence line. Examination of the aircraft revealed no preexisting anomalies with the aircraft. There was no evidence of fu…