Aviation Safety

At 19:20 EST, a Mooney M20J struck a pole and crashed while on final approach to runway 26 at Tampa Bay Executive Airport, killing the pilot. A CFI who was at the approach end of runway 26 preparing to take off with a student pilot said the Mooney attempted to contact Unicom. The CFI responded that Unicom was closed and advised that runway 26 was the active. The accident pilot said he wanted to use runway 35, which did not exist at the airport. The CFI saw the Mooney fly over the airport from the north and the pilot announced a left downwind. The CFI advised the pilot that runway 26 had right traffic, and the pilot asked several times where the airport was even as he was overflying it. The C…

At 12:57 PST, a Cessna 150F lost engine power during cruise and made an emergency landing in a vineyard in Windsor. The three occupants were not injured. The flight had originated from Willows, Calif., and was scheduled to terminate at the Sonoma County airport. The pilot told a deputy he had run out of fuel. Investigators found fuel in the airplane but found the spark plugs lead-fouled and determined that the carb heat actuating cable was broken internally….

At 18:15 CST, a Beech V35 lost power and made a forced landing 100 feet short of runway 29 at Schaumburg Regional Airport. The pilot was uninjured. The flight departed Columbus, Ohio, at 16:50 CST. The pilot reported that he had run out of fuel. Examination of the fuel tanks revealed no useable fuel present….

At 11:00 EST, a Cessna 182P taxied into an unoccupied parked airplane at the Hartford-Brainard Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot said he taxied the airplane from the north side of a building to the south side. He then set the parking brake and secured the engine to load a passenger along with some baggage. With the passenger and baggage loaded, the pilot started the engine. While the passenger was occupied looking for a pair of sunglasses, the pilot looked down to set the transponder code. With the engine at low rpm, the airplane rolled approximately 60 feet and collided with a Cessna 210. The 182s propeller slashed open the fuel tank of the 210 and showered the 182 w…

At 12:16 EDT, a Eurocopter BK117, operating as an air medical helicopter, collided with a radio transmission tower located on the Weedon Island State Preserve. The pilot and two passengers were killed. The helicopter had dropped off a patient at Bayfront Medical Center and was returning to St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa along a newly established route. The new routing was in response to noise complaints from neighborhoods along the previous route. A witness said the helicopter was flying at about 500 feet agl when it hit a guy wire and crashed….

At about 19:00 EST, a Beech 76 crashed during an aborted landing attempt at Rowan County Airport. The instructor and multi-engine student were not injured. The pilots had nearly completed a training flight and had made an ILS approach and a touch and go. They remained in the pattern and planned to make a full-stop landing. During the approach, the instructor simulated a failure of the right engine. The student began to drift and the instructor said he could use both engines for landing. The student continued to drive and the instructor ordered a go-around. The student applied full power to only the left engine and the aircraft rolled to the right. The CFI took control and cut power to the le…

At about 14:36 PST, a Siai-Marchetti SF260 lost power while on approach to the Napa Airport and landed about 300 yards short of the runway. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight had originated in Phoenix at about 10:15 MST. The pilot said he was aware the airplane was low on fuel while he was approaching Napa, but he did not advise controllers of his fuel status. Engine power was lost while he was on the base leg of a standard traffic pattern….

At 14:00 EST, a Cessna 152 and a Cessna 140A collided during landing on runway 16 at the Clearwater Air Park. None of the three occupants was injured. The 152, which held a flight instructor and a student pilot, landed on runway 16 and was about 1,500 feet down the runway when the Cessna 140 landed on top of it….

At 17:13 PDT, a Robinson R22 crashed into hilly terrain while maneuvering over the LaJolla Indian Reservation. The pilot and instructor were seriously injured. The flight originated from private property at an undetermined time and was destined for local area flight with landings on the Indian reservation. According to emergency responders, the pilot stated that, at the time of the accident, there was confusion regarding who was manipulating the flight controls….

At about 16:20 PST, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) MD-83 on a scheduled international passenger flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco, Calif., crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Point Mugu. The two pilots, three flight attendants, 80 adult and child passengers, and three infant passengers were killed. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search and rescue mission for 44 hours….