Aviation Safety

At 11:10 EDT, a Cessna 150 struck a utility pole while attempting a forced landing near Waycross. The student pilot was not injured. The flight departed Zellwood, Fla., at 07:30. The student pilot reported that he had received a weather briefing before departing Zellwood and was aware of the strong winds aloft. He estimated a ground speed of approximately 70 miles per hour and calculated three hours to the destination airport in Alma, Ga. About 40 miles from his destination, the engine lost power. He attempted to land at Ware County Airport but could not make the field….

At about 16:27 EST, the left wing of a Beech D50E caught fire while taxiing for takeoff at Myrtle Beach International Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot had landed to refuel and was taxiing for takeoff. As he performed a flight control check of the ailerons he saw the paint discoloring on the upper outboard wing skin. He taxied to an open area of the ramp, where he secured the airplane. After exiting the airplane, he noted fire at the outboard fuel tank vent, which was leaking fuel. He discharged a handheld fire extinguisher and nearly extinguished the fire. The airport fire rescue team then arrived and completed the job….

At approximately 11:00 MST, a Cessna P210N was damaged in a forced landing near Gillette, but the two occupants were not injured. The pilot said he had ordered the plane refueled the day before for a flight from Pontiac, Mich., to Sheridan, Wyo., and records showed 95 gallons were added to the tanks. He calculated the 1,026 nm flight would take 5.7 hours and concluded he would land at Sheridan with more than an hour of fuel remaining. When the airplane was one hour from the destination, he determined that the fuel gauges looked suspiciously low and he diverted to Gillette. The airplane ran out of fuel and landed in hilly terrain about a mile from the airport….

At about 14:30 EST, a Piper PA-28-236 and a Cessna 172M collided near Parkertown. None of the three occupants was injured. The pilot of the Piper said he was level at 3,300 feet and flying north when he felt a bump. He thought he hit a bird and returned to his departure airport, Lorain County Regional Airport. The airplane had a tire mark on top of the fuselage and damage to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot did not recall seeing the Cessna at all. The Cessna pilot said he departed from Sandusky, Ohio, and was climbing through 3,300 feet for 3,500 feet when he noticed a vertical fin just slightly to the right of the airplane. The pilot said there was no time to take evasive action. After im…

At about 15:30 EST, a McDonnell Douglas 600N, operated by WTVJ NBC 6 as a news photography flight, crashed while maneuvering near Miami. The pilot and camera operator were killed. The flight had been airborne 27 minutes before the crash. Friends of the pilot were flying in a Robinson R-44 helicopter and the two aircraft joined up in a very loose formation. Witness accounts varied somewhat, but agreed that the accident helicopter pitched nose down then pulled to a steep nose-up attitude. The helicopter yawed to the left and began sliding backwards, at which point the aircraft pitched nose down and the tail boom separated from the helicopter….

At 17:29 PST, a Cessna 172N and a Piper PA-28-140 collided in mid-air while in the traffic pattern at Palm Springs. The two instructors and three students involved were not injured. The Cessna had been cleared for closed right traffic on runway 31R and was in a turn from crosswind to downwind. The Piper had been cleared into the airport traffic area and told to report two miles out on a 45-degree entry to the downwind for runway 31R. The tower controller had advised the Cessna of a Piper inbound from the northwest, and the Piper had been told of two Cessnas in right closed traffic. The Piper failed to make a position report as instructed. The airplanes collided at about 1,500 feet msl opposi…

At 07:48 CST, a Cessna 182M and a Cessna 208B collided in mid-air near McAlester Regional Airport. The pilot of the 182 was killed but the pilot of the Caravan was not injured. The pilot of the 182 had elected to divert to McAlester after getting an in-flight weather report that called for icing along his route of flight. The Caravan was departing when the pilot heard the 182 pilot call Unicom for an airport advisory. The Caravan pilot gave him the winds and active runway and heard no further transmissions. The Caravan was departing the pattern on an extended downwind when he saw the 182 making what appeared to be a normal crosswind to downwind turn. The Caravan pilot rolled right and descen…

At 19:51 PST a Douglas DC-8-71F operated as a scheduled cargo flight by Emery Worldwide Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Mather Field. The three crew members were killed. The flight had originated in Reno, Nev., and arrived in Rancho Cordova late. The crew still made a 58-minute turnaround. As it departed runway 22l, it rotated about halfway down the runway, banked to the left at low altitude and porpoised. A witness said he saw the airplane impact the ground in a left-wing-low, nose-low attitude, with the engines at a high power setting. Tapes of the communications with controllers showed that the pilot requested a return to the airport because of a problem with the center of gra…

At about 06:30 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Piper PA-18 collided with snow-covered terrain 33.5 miles west-northwest of Kotzebue. The pilot, who held an expired student pilot certificate, was killed. Passing villagers found the airplane inverted about one mile east of the coast near Cape Krusentern and notified the Alaska State Troopers office in Kotzebue at about 19:00. Family members said the pilot departed Kivalina about 05:30 with a load of whale meat after traveling to Kivalina the day before the accident. The weather conditions reported by villagers in the area of the accident included low ceilings, fog, and scattered snow showers….

At 08:18 PDT, a homebuilt Christavia Mark I kitplane pitched down and crashed while on short final to runway 34 at McNary Field. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot reported that he took off from runway 13 for the initial test flight following installation of a new engine. The airplane was nose-heavy during climb out and the pilot declared an emergency and turned back toward the field. During the approach the nose of the aircraft abruptly pitched down when the pilot reduced power for landing. He was unable to recover control. The center of gravity at the time of the accident was found to lie one-half inch forward of the forward-most cg limit for the airplane. The pilot/builder reported that h…