Preliminary Reports

At about 1945 Mountain time, the airplane collided with mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 17 nautical miles northwest of Stanley, Idaho. Instrument conditions prevailed at the accident site; no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the Commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight departed from Pistol Creek, a private mountain airstrip about 1925. This was a flight of two aircraft that were returning to Stanley after dropping off freight at Pistol Creek. The pilot of the other aircraft reported that the flight encountered fog and clouds while en route and had to circle. Both pilots were in radio contact while circling. The pilot of…

The Student pilot and three non-rated passengers were killed when the twin-engine airplane crashed in night visual conditions at about 0250 Central time. The flight originated in Atmore, Ala., earlier the same morning; a search for the airplane and its occupants was not initiated until September 25, 2004, when a family member contacted local law enforcement. The accident airplane was discovered on October 4 , 2004, by the Mississippi Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. The Student pilot had accumulated a total of 96.5 flight hours, of which about 43.3 flight hours were in the same make and model airplane as the accident airplane. In addition, records showed that the pilot had a total of 3.4 hours…

At approximately 0614 Central time, the airplane was destroyed after impacting terrain following loss of control while maneuvering near Rachel, Texas. The pilot, sole occupant of the airplane was fatally injured. Instrument conditions prevailed for the Part 135 cargo flight, which originated in San Antonio, Texas, and was destined for McAllen, Texas. Preliminary radar data show the airplane cruising at 9000 feet MSL at 0537 when the pilot requested to descend to 7000 feet. Almost 20 minutes later, the pilot reported losing his vacuum system and then requested a descent to 5000 feet. Radar data depicted the airplane passing through 6600 feet at 0606. At 0613, the pilot requested to divert to…

August 4, 2004, Mineral Wells, Texas
Piper PA-32-260
At approximately 1140 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight, impacting power lines and terrain one mile northwest of the Mineral Wells (Texas) Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the test flight by a Commercial pilot and Private-pilot rated passenger. Both sustained fatal injuries. According to several witnesses, the accident airplane was observed flying over Runway 31 at approximately 150 feet AGL and flying rather slow. The airplane then pulled-up hard and banked to the right. and was observed to descend below the tree line. The airplane was found, inverted, in a…

At approximately 1140 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight, impacting power lines and terrain one mile northwest of the Mineral Wells (Texas) Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the test flight by a Commercial pilot and Private-pilot rated passenger. Both sustained fatal injuries. According to several witnesses, the accident airplane was observed flying over Runway 31 at approximately 150 feet AGL and flying rather slow. The airplane then pulled-up hard and banked to the right. and was observed to descend below the tree line. The airplane was found, inverted, in an open field, directly under power lines. A power pole, located 430 fee…

The aircraft was substantially damaged when it impacted the edge of a road, just prior to the approach end of Runway 01 at the Durango-Animas Air Park (5CO0), Durango, Colo., at about 1605 Mountain time. Visual conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The Private pilot and two passengers reported no injuries; a third passenger sustained minor injuries. The cross-country flight originated at Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 1440. The pilot reported that, at approximately 300 feet AGL on final approach, the airplane began to sink rapidly. The pilot said he applied full power, and barely cleared a drop-off on the approach end of the runway. He also said that the stall warning horn was sound…

At approximately 0730 Mountain time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain while maneuvering approximately 20 miles east of Spanish Fork, Utah. Visual conditions prevailed; the pilot and one passenger on board the airplane were seriously injured. Two other passengers had minor injuries. According to one of the passengers, the airplane was flying in a canyon. As the pilot tried to pull up, the engine sputtered a little bit and struck trees. The engine sounded like it was bogging down before the tree strike….

At about 1451 Eastern time, the airplane was ditched into the water in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Fla. Visual conditions prevailed. The Airline Transport pilot and three passengers received minor injuries; one passenger received fatal injuries. The flight was conducted to film islands in the Dry Tortugas. As the flight progressed and was in the area of Fort Jefferson, the engine sputtered and ceased operating. The pilot was able to get the engine operating again, but about three minutes later it stopped and did not restart. Everyone aboard was able to egress the airplane except for one passenger, who had asked that a rope be tied around him so that he would not fall out of the airplane…

At 1334 Eastern time the airplane collided with terrain and was destroyed during a forced landing. The Airline Transport pilot was fatally injured at the conclusion of the positioning flight that originated in Batavia, New York (3G8), approximately 10 minutes earlier. The flights purpose was to return the airplane to its home base in Rochester, N.Y., after an annual inspection and reinstalling the right engine following repair. Shortly before the crash, at 1332:06, the pilot announced that he had lost an engine and requested vectors back to Batavia. At 1332:20, the pilot said he could not reach Batavia and opted to land at the Ledgedale Airport (7G0) in Brockport, N.Y. At 1334:01, the pil…

The float-equipped airplane operating as a Part 135 on-demand charter was substantially damaged at about 1320 Pacific time after striking powerlines while on final approach to Killkarney Lake. Neither the Commercial pilot nor his two passengers were injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot subsequently reported that he flew over the area at approximately 500 feet AGL before attempting to land. While on final approach, the airplane was at approximately 50 feet AGL when he saw the wires. The pilot reported that he immediately added full power to raise the nose when the top wire went over the top of the floats, catching the float struts. The pilot stated that the wire broke off the right…