Aviation Safety

At about 09:15 eastern time, a Beech F35 crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Bamberg County Airport, killing the pilot. The airplane had been delivered to a maintenance facility at the airport for an annual inspection on June 12. The work was completed on July 12 and the pilot came to pick up the airplane on July 21. He paid his bill and then started the airplane, taxied to the end of the runway and took off, all within what witnesses called two minutes. When the airplane climbed to about 100 feet agl the engine began to sputter. The airplane banked almost 90 degrees to the left and the airplane crashed nose-down….

At about 09:30 eastern time, a Cessna 152 struck a deer while making touch-and-go landings at Warrenton-Fauquier Airport. The student pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was on the go portion of a touch-and-go and was rotating the airplane for takeoff when a deer struck the airplanes left horizontal stabilizer. The stabilizer buckled and the left elevator was torn off. The student pilot continued the takeoff and performed an uneventful emergency landing in a field adjacent to the airport. The pilot reported 39 hours of total flight experience, of which 17 hours were in make and model….

At 12:45 Pacific time, a Schleicher ASW-20 glider crashed shortly after takeoff during an aero tow at Williams Glider Port, killing the pilot. A witness said that, at liftoff, the glider began a steep climb above the altitude of the tow airplane. The tow pilot cut the line and the glider dove to the ground and crashed. The glider was fitted with quick-disconnect flight control fittings to aid in disassembling the glider for trailer transport. Postaccident examination of the flight control system disclosed that the elevator control push rod was disconnected from the elevator at a quick disconnect fitting in the vertical stabilizer….

At 11:00 eastern time, a Cessna 172P overran the runway and flipped while landing at Concord Municipal Airport. The instructor, student pilot and passenger were not injured. The ASOS reported winds as calm and braking as fair. The student was practicing landings on runway 35 when the instructor called for a simulated engine out landing. The student entered the downwind leg for runway 12 but would not properly descend or decelerate. When the airplane finally landed 1,000 feet down the runway, it began to slide sideways, with little brake effectiveness. In fact, the winds at the time of the accident were from 320 degrees at 8 knots….

At about 14:15 eastern time, a Piper PA-28 overran the runway at Mattituck Airbase and crashed into trees. The four aboard were not injured. The pilot was following a Mooney in the traffic pattern and landed about halfway down runway 01 at a high rate of speed. Winds at an airport 10 miles to the southwest were from 200 degrees at 9 knots….

At about 12:15 eastern time, a Piper PA-32-260 ditched in the Florida Straits about 30 miles southeast from Key West. The pilot escaped but two reported passengers were presumed to have drowned. The flight was operated by a business offering customers a chance to join the mile-high club. The pilot said an older Hispanic couple who spoke little English, paid cash and only provided their first names hired the flight. Once the flight was airborne, the male passenger produced a small knife and demanded to be flown to Cuba. The pilot maneuvered aggressively to disorient the man and reversed course toward Key West, but a struggle in the cockpit ensued in which the throttle handle snapped off. Th…

At about 17:45 Pacific time, a Bellanca 8GCBC nosed over during landing rollout on a road near Nixon. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was landing on the road to tow out a glider that had landed there. The ground crew indicated via radio that the road was long enough for him to land. The pilot said his approach may have been slightly fast, and he touched down on the downhill road with a slight tailwind. As the tow plane approached the stationary glider, the pilot applied heavy breaks, and the tow plane nosed over….

At 15:40 mountain time, a Beech 95-B55B was destroyed by postimpact fire after it landed with the gear retracted at Front Range Airport. The flight instructor and two students were not injured. The pilot said he forgot to lower the landing gear….

At about 10:45 eastern time, a Cessna T210N went off the runway during an aborted landing at Kent State University Airport. The flight instructor and student received minor injuries. The flight instructor said he had been asked by the pilot to help him with landings. They practiced landings at Ravenna, then proceeded to Kent. The pilot said he bounced the landing. A wind gust pushed the aircraft to the left edge of the runway. The CFI added power to make a go-around, then aborted the go-around and put the airplane into the grass, where the nose wheel snapped off in the mud. The CFI said the aircraft continued to settle after adding full power for a go-around, so he made a forced landing in t…

At about 07:00 eastern time, a Cessna 310R struck rising terrain during an instrument approach at Mercer County Airport. The pilot was killed. The flight had been cleared for the ILS Runway 23 approach and the pilot reported established on the approach. Radar data showed the airplane joined the localizer and proceeded inbound on course. Due to limited radar coverage, the last radar contact was about three-quarters of a mile inside the final approach fix, still on course, at 4,700 feet. A witness at the airport heard the airplane off in the distance but did not see the airplane fly over the runway because of heavy snow falling at the time. Shortly thereafter, the sound of the engines ceased…