Aviation Safety

At 1315 central time, a Mooney M20F struck the ground and another airplane during a go-around at Minneapolis Crystal Airport. The pilot reported minor injuries and the passenger was uninjured. The pilot said he opted for a go-around because the gear was not extended and the aircraft went off to the left side of runway 24R and struck the tail of a parked Cherokee….

At about 18:50 eastern time, a Beech V35B crashed during a night circle-to-land instrument approach at Chester Airport. The pilot and his passenger were killed. The pilot was inbound to Chester and requested the GPS Runway 35 approach. The controller then cleared him for the approach and approved a change to the CTAF, which the pilot acknowledged. The airplane flew inbound on the approach, descending to 1,500 feet, at which point radar contact was lost due to interference with terrain. A witness saw the airplane flying parallel to the runway at about 400 feet agl, but about 1,000 feet east of the runway. It made a left turn, as though making a turn from downwind leg to base at low altitude….

At 0815 central time, a Beech 200 was damaged in a hard landing at Camden/Harrell Field, but none of the eight aboard was injured. The pilot executed the GPS 18 approach to runway 18 and broke out of the clouds at about 900 feet msl. During the landing flare, at approximately 15 to 20 feet above the runway, the pilot felt a shudder, the aircraft dropped, then touched down hard on both main landing gear. The left main gear sheared, the left wing struck the ground and the nose gear was damaged. The airplane touched down within the first 800 feet of the 6,501-foot runway….

At about 19:30 mountain time, a Piper PA-24-250 suffered fuel exhaustion while on final approach to runway 21R at Love Field and crashed about 450 feet short of the runway. The two occupants, both of whom were flight instructors, suffered minor injuries. The engine failed on approach with the fuel selector was positioned to the right auxiliary fuel tank and the pilot restored power seconds before impact by switching to a main fuel tank. Investigators found about 10 gallons in the left aux fuel tank, 25 gallons in the left main tank and 15 gallons in the right main tank. The right aux tank was completely dry….

At 1722 central time, a Piper PA-18-150 lost power while towing a banner and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot was not injured. The pilot was flying at 1,000 feet on the right tank, which indicated full, when he was distracted by radio communications with other banner tows. The engine quit and the pilot switched to the left tank, which was full, but could not restart the engine. Prior to the airplanes forced landing, the banner got tangled in trees and wires….

At 0315 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-151 was damaged during a forced landing to Interstate 70 in Port Columbus. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot had flown from Columbus, Ohio, to Utica, N.Y., the day before and had used about 33 gallons to make the trip. The topped the fuel tanks with 48 gallons usable for the return trip. His weather briefing called for winds of 15 to 17 knots, but the actual winds aloft were about 36 knots, peaking at 50 knots. The airplane ran out of fuel about 10 miles from its destination. The pilot had gotten his private certificate about five weeks earlier….

At 1402 mountain time, an amateur-built Pulsar made a hard landing at Love Field, collapsing the landing gear. The student pilot/owner was operating the airplane with a commercial pilot, the previous owner, riding in the right seat to help the new owner familiarize himself with the airplane. The student pilot reported about 100 hours total time and said it was his first flight in this kind of airplane, and the accident occurred on the first attempted landing….

At about 22:15 Pacific time, a Cessna 172C lost engine power during an attempted go-around and crashed off the departure end of the runway at Corona Municipal Airport. The three occupants were not injured. The student pilot, who owned the airplane, said he switched the fuel selector to the BOTH position about 5,500 feet over Ontario, verifying its position by feel. On short final he noted that they were too high and too fast, so he initiated a go-around. The engine did not respond to a power application. Witnesses who arrived on the scene immediately noted there was fuel in both tanks. Investigators later found the fuel line to the gascolator was broken at the attach point (possibly from imp…

At 10:11 mountain time, a Cessna 182E crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 21L at Love Field Airport. The pilot and front-seat passenger were killed and two passengers in the rear seat received serious injuries. After takeoff, the controller observed the airplane losing altitude and making a banking turn to the right back toward the airport. The pilot reported experiencing difficulty. A flight instructor taking off behind the accident airplane reported the airplanes initial climb rate was only 150-200 fpm. At a quarter-mile past the departure end of the runway, the airplane had climbed to about 300 feet agl. The airplane then banked to about 80 degrees and appeared to stall and spin. W…

At 1631 eastern time, a Luscombe LL-8-E lost elevator control and crashed in Olar, killing the pilot and passenger. Witnesses said the airplane was descending rapidly in a nose-down attitude. Examination of the flight controls found the elevator control cable attachment fitting separated from the elevator push/pull control rod. The attachment bolt and nut were not located….