Preliminary Reports

At about 1430 eastern time, a Cessna 172S was damaged during landing at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was landing on runway 23 with a crosswind of about 15 knots about 30 degrees right of the runway centerline. The airplane touched down hard and bounced five or six times before he performed a go-around. During the second landing attempt, the pilot experienced difficulty manipulating the airplanes controls. The airplane landed hard, veered off the right side of the runway and struck a snow bank. Post accident inspection found the outboard six inches of the propeller tips were curled aft and the upper part of the landing gear strut was pushed into…

At 1510 mountain time, the pilot of an amateur-built Lancair 235 lost control during an aborted landing on runway 24 at Payson Airport. The pilot was killed. A witness said the pilot had bought the airplane two days earlier and was planning to conduct fast taxi tests. On the second test, the airplane became airborne and the pilot departed the airport. Other witnesses said they saw the accident airplane make two approaches that culminated in go-arounds, and on each approach the airplane displayed pitch deviations. On the third approach, the airplane landed hard about 1,500 feet down the runway. It bounced into the air, landed back on the runway, and the engine powered up to abort the landing….

At about 1539 eastern time, a Beech 58 crashed after an approach to Page Field. The pilot and one passenger were killed. The flight had originated in St. Joseph, Mo., bound for Naples, Fla., with a fuel stop in Centerville, Ala. At Naples the pilot was cleared for the VOR 23 approach, but missed it. The pilot requested a diversion to Page Airport to shoot the ILS 5 approach. Radar information showed he was never established on the localizer. He missed the approach, verified the ILS frequency with controllers, and requested another try. He said he had flown the first approach on automatic and would make the second attempt on manual. The controller asked fuel status and the pilot reported…

At 2027 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-161 lost power on initial climb from Scottsdale Airport and crashed into a restaurant parking lot. The pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The flight originated at Mesa, Ariz., at 1815 and flew to Tucson. The return flight was to include a touch and go in Scottsdale and return to Mesa. He landed in Tucson and started the return leg without shutting down. On the takeoff out of Scottsdale, the airplane reached about 300 feet agl and the engine sputtered and quit. No fuel was found on the aircraft. The pilot reported that, before he departed, the fuel level was at or slightly below the tabs, which would be about 34 gallons. The operators policy i…

At about 1115 mountain time, a Mooney 252 lost engine power and was damaged in a forced landing at Eagle County Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot said the airplane had lifted off and climbed to 50 feet when the engine lost power. He attempted to land on the 2,000 feet of runway remaining, but the airplane slid off the icy runway, traveled across a 600-foot overrun, and collided with a ditch. Airport emergency personnel who responded to the scene reported finding cowl plugs still in place….

At about 1430 Pacific time, a Piper PA-24-250 crashed into several homes in Anaheim Hills following the in-flight separation of the left wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot and passenger were killed. The pilot was flying from Prescott, Ariz., to Orange County, Calif., and filed an IFR flight plan in flight near Palm Springs. The flight was level at 3,000 and cleared to intercept the localizer for the ILS approach to runway 19R at John Wayne when the controller noticed the airplane make an unusually hard right turn. The airplane then disappeared from radar. Debris from the airplane was strewn along a path about a quarter mile long. The first piece located in the path was a 6-foot sectio…

At 2105 eastern time, a Piper PA-32R-301T crashed shortly after the pilot reported an in-flight fire while in cruise flight. The pilot and passenger were killed. The airplane was cruising from Rutland, Vt., to Farmingdale, N.Y., when the pilot reported the fire. The controller vectored the pilot toward Waterbury-Oxford Airport. It was five miles out descending out of 5,500 feet. The approach controller cleared it to land on any runway. The pilot entered a close-in downwind for runway 36 and the tower controller noted the engine compartment engulfed in flames. Witnesses on the ground also reported flames coming from the airplane….

At 1137 mountain time, a Robinson R22 Beta struck power lines and crashed near Dolan Springs. The pilot and passenger were killed. The flight originated from Las Vegas, Nev., at an unknown time. A witness said the helicopter was flying over his lane on Interstate 93 about 30 miles north of Kingman when it struck the power lines. Indications are that the wires were about 30 feet agl at their lowest point between poles….

At approximately 1430 Pacific time, a Grumman American AA-1 crashed into a pond about a quarter-mile short of runway 33 at Chehalis-Centralia Airport. The pilot was seriously injured and his passenger received minor injuries. The pilot and his passenger took off hoping to look at some land in the local area, but soon after becoming airborne found that the subject area was covered by dense low-level fog. They returned to the airport and, because of fog to the north and west of the field, made a straight-in VFR approach to runway 33. During the last part of the approach, the pilot reduced the power to near idle and, when he advanced the throttle, there was no response from the engine. As the p…

At 1130 eastern time, a Beech F-35 Bonanza experienced an airframe vibration while descending out of 3,500 feet 25 miles west of Hollywood North Perry Airport. The pilot slowed the airplane and landed without further incident. The pilot said he was descending from 3,500 feet at 180 knots indicated when he felt the tail flutter. He reduced power, slowed the airplane and landed successfully. A post-landing inspection found the empennage aft of the rear bulkhead had substantial wrinkling near the horizontal stabilizers….