Aviation Safety

At approximately 12:15 mountain time, a Cessna 425 crashed about two miles north of Fanning Field. The two occupants on board for the maintenance test flight were killed. The aircraft had recently had maintenance work performed on its autofeather system after reports of the left engine not autofeathering properly in flight. The maintenance work was performed and the purpose of the accident flight was to verify proper inflight operation of the system. Two witnesses described the aircraft as entering a spiral from a banked turn about five minutes after takeoff. One said he first observed the aircraft flying south 200 to 300 feet agl. He said the aircraft entered a left turn and began a skiddi…

At about 07:17 eastern time, a Piper PA-28-140 crashed on initial climb from runway 24 at the Sparta Airport, killing the pilot and leaving the passenger seriously injured. An IFR flight plan was filed to Manassas, Va., but no departure clearance was given. Visibility at the airport was less than 1/4 to 1/8 mile. The aircraft struck trees and terrain about 300 feet left of the extended runway centerline and about 1,000 feet from the departure end of the runway….

At about 16:20 Pacific time, a Lancair 235 lost power and was damaged when it made a forced landing to a highway, or so the pilot thought. The aircraft landed on top of a flatbed tractor trailer combination that was traveling southbound on Interstate 97. The aircraft came to rest on the forward most section of the trailer, against the tractor. Neither the pilot nor the driver of the truck was injured….

At 07:22 mountain time, a Piper PA-34-200T crashed approximately 800 feet east of and 1,000 feet down runway 33 at Fort Collins/Loveland Municipal Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The airplane was landing on an IFR flight plan. Weather at the time was reported as 100 foot overcast with -mile visibility in fog….

At 10:50 Pacific time, an experimental Glasair 1 RG struck utility lines and crashed south of Temecula. The pilot and his passenger were killed. A witness said the aircraft was performing a series of aerobatic maneuvers. He described the airplane as pulling up, rolling and then diving until out of sight. At the bottom of each dive he heard the engine accelerate and the airplane would begin another climb. During the final maneuver, he did not hear the engine accelerate nor did he see the airplane climb again following the descent….

At about 11:30 Pacific time, a Cessna 150 ditched in the Pacific ocean about 20 miles south west of Carlsbad following a loss of engine power. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The flight originated from San Diego about a half hour earlier and was en route to a fish-spotting mission offshore. The pilot said the engine rpms began a slow decay when he was about 40 miles offshore, accompanied by a loss of oil pressure and an increase in oil temperature. The pilot reversed course and headed toward Carlsbad, the closest airport. About 20 miles out the engine lost all power and the pilot ditched the airplane. A passing fishing boat picked up the pilot….

At 12:06 eastern time, a Beech BE-23 struck water while attempting a go-around on runway 33 at Everglades Airpark. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The pilot said he experienced strong gusty winds that caused the airplane to bounce on the runway. The pilot said he began to execute a go-around with full power but the airplane would not gain flying speed and settled into the bay at the end of the runway….

At about 12:52 Pacific time, a Beech K35 suffered an engine failure in cruise and attempted a forced landing on Interstate 40 near Newberry Springs. The airplane struck three cars, killing the pilot and injuring two occupants of one of the cars, one of them seriously. Examination of the wreckage showed an apparent catastrophic engine failure, with oil on the windshield, belly, empennage and back of the propeller blades….

At about 15:48 eastern time, an Air Force F-16CG and a Cessna 172 collided in flight near Bradenton. The pilot of the F-16 ejected and was unhurt. The pilot of the 172 was killed. The F-16 was one of two airplanes operating on a low altitude training mission, and had filed a composite military IFR/VFR flight plan. The 172 had just taken off from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport en route to St. Petersburg and was in radio contact with Tampa Approach. Tampa cleared the pilot to climb from 1,600 to 3,500, which he acknowledged. The controller alerted the Cessna pilot to the fighter traffic 55 seconds later, but the pilot did not respond. The two F-16s had departed Moody Air Force Base a…

At 18:22 central time, a North American NA-265-80 crashed in a densely wooded area about 3.5 nautical miles northeast of the Gogebic-Iron County Airport. The two pilots were killed and two passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was cruising at FL 320 when the pilot called Mayday, saying the jet had been hit by lightning and had lost power to both engines. Shortly afterward, the pilot reported a loss of navigational instruments. A convective sigmet had been issued for possible severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail to 2 inches and wind gusts to 70 knots….