Aviation Safety

At about 10:37 eastern time, a Cessna 210L lost power shortly after takeoff and was ditched near Key West. The pilot, and three passengers were not injured. One passenger sustained minor injuries. The pilot said she was level at 700 feet agl and reduced power to 25 inches and 2500 rpm when she heard a loud bang. The rpm and oil pressure gauges indicated zero but the propeller continued to rotate. The doors were opened and the passengers were advised to brace before ditching. After the ditching, she got her daughter who was one of the passengers out of the airplane and she believes that the other adult passenger assisted the other two passengers out of the airplane. Preliminary examination…

At about 10:59 eastern time, a Piper PA-32-300 had both main landing gear brakes catch fire during taxi. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he picked up the airplane from a maintenance company, taxied to the runway with a passenger and took off. Just prior to liftoff the left wheel brake appeared to grab. He flew locally and returned to the airport, where he dropped off his passenger. He again taxied to the runway to fly to Vero Beach, Fla. and felt the left brake grab again. He taxied to the end of the runway and the left brake again grabbed. He elected to return to the maintenance company. As he approached the ramp, he smelled smoke. Personnel from the maintenance company came to th…

At 07:20 central time, a Cessna 182 struck trees during takeoff from a private grass airstrip near Victoria. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said the left seat slid back about the time the airplane rotated. Subsequently, the airplane veered off the airstrip and struck trees near the departure end of the runway. The inspector reported that the seat track pin holes were within the manufacturers limits. The pilot said he did not have the safety lock installed on the seat track….

At 20:34 mountain time, a Piper PA-28R-180 was destroyed during a forced landing two miles south of Albuquerque International Sunport. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The airplane took off from runway 21 and, as it climbed to 150 to 200 feet, the engine lurched and began sputtering. The pilot reported his situation to the control tower and he was cleared to land on any runway. As he turned around, the right wing struck a power line and was torn off, and the airplane crashed on a mesa. Inspection revealed the No. 1 cylinder head had blown off at the barrel….

At about 14:20 Pacific time, a North American Navion crashed near Santa Ysabel, killing the pilot. IMC prevailed but the pilot was not instrument rated and no flight plan had been filed. Witnesses said they heard the sound of a low-flying airplane for a few seconds before it came out of clouds with the nose pointing down more than 75 degrees. The nose of the airplane pulled up a bit just before the airplane disappeared behind a ridgeline and crashed. The airplane apparently did not break up before impact….

At 0705 central time, a Cessna 172H crashed 1.2 miles from the Centralia Municipal Airport, killing the flight instructor and student pilot. A witness said the airplane was flying slowly with a low power setting at an altitude of about 500 feet. He said the airplane was in a steep angle of bank and in a turn to the right. After about 270 degrees of turn, the nose of the airplane came up and the airplane became inverted. The nose of the airplane then went down. He heard the airplanes engine revving to full power just before impact….

At approximately 12:15 mountain time, a Beech A36 struck terrain at 10,400 feet msl on Pinnacle Peak, 15 miles southeast of Jackson, while in cruise flight. All five aboard were killed. IMC prevailed but no flight plan as filed. The flight had originated from Garden City, Kan., at 07:00 and the pilot had canceled flight following near Pinedale, Wyo., at 11:41….

At 17:01 central time, a Piper PA-30 crash-landed short of runway 29 during a precautionary landing at Outagamie County Regional Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot said he was practicing instrument approaches when the green landing gear down indicator light did not illuminate. He performed the emergency gear extension procedures and opened the gear actuator panel, and the actuator appeared to be in the down position. He decided to land. When on final approach, he throttled the engines back and pulled the mixture controls to the lean position. The resulting descent rate was steeper than he expected. The airplane struck a runway approach light and came to rest about 10 feet…

At about 18:15 eastern time, a Cessna 182Q registered to the Civil Air Patrol was damaged in a hard landing at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport. The pilot reported no injuries. The pilot said she made a normal landing and was holding back pressure on the yoke. During the landing rollout she felt a shudder after the nose wheel touched down on the runway. She assumed she had blown a tire. She informed the control tower that she had blown a tire and rolled to a stop on the side of the runway. After exiting the airplane she observed that the nose wheel was flat and both propeller tips were curled aft. Investigators concluded the nose wheel had struck the runway first, bending the firewall and fu…

At 15:35 Pacific time, a Mooney M20J struck a pole while taxiing to parking at McCarran International Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot was behind a follow me golf cart en route to parking. As the truck passed through an opening between a parked airplane on the right and a metal pole on the left, the left wing of the accident airplane struck the metal pole. The opening was 78 feet wide and the airplanes wing span is 35 feet. The pilot said he became distracted while ground control was attempting to provide him with a telephone number to call after securing his airplane. The controllers wanted to discuss an air space violation that had occurred while the pilot was en route to M…