Preliminary Reports

At about 1700 eastern time, a Cirrus SR-20 was damaged on landing at Mason County Airport. The student pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The pilot said he spotted four deer on the runway while he was on final approach. He adjusted his approach to land beyond them and the airplane touched down 700 to 1,000 feet past the deer. At that point, the pilot spotted three more deer to his right front about 50 to 75 feet away, and crossing the runway. The pilot added power and pitched the nose of the airplane up but the airplane struck two deer, departed the side of the runway and went into a line of trees….

At approximately 0905 Pacific time, a Lancair IV crashed during an aborted landing at a private airstrip four miles east-southeast of Coeur dAlene. The pilot and one passenger were killed and another passenger was seriously injured. The survivor was a pilot who had flown into and out of the landing site on previous occasions, but the pilot had never flown into the 40-foot-wide, 2,206-foot-long airstrip before. The owner of the airstrip said the aircraft entered a left traffic pattern and, on short final, appeared to be high and with a nose-high attitude. The aircraft touched down with the left main wheel on the runway about three feet left of the runways right edge and the right gear touch…

At 1720 eastern time, a Cessna 172N struck a tower while flying the GPS Rwy 21 approach to Mount Sterling-Montgomery County Airport, killing the pilot and passenger. During the approach, which involved a shortcut requested by the pilot and approved by the controller, the pilot was advised to maintain 3,000 feet until established on the approach. The controller told the pilot to switch to the Unicom frequency twice, but the pilot said he wanted to stay with the controller in case of a missed approach. The airplane tracked parallel to but about a mile west of the approach course and the altitude fluctuated between 2,300 feet and 2,500 feet for much of that segment of the approach. The controll…

At about 1425 eastern time, a Pilatus PC-12/45 suffered an engine failure and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. One passenger suffered minor injuries and the other three occupants were not injured. The pilots said the flight departed runway 06, the airplane was cleaned up and then it entered the clouds. They detected a smell they could not identify and there were multiple bangs from the front of the airplane. Flame and sparks were observed coming from the left side engine exhaust. The pilot turned toward the airport, shut down the engine and feathered the prop. The airplane landed long and fast with a 20-knot tailwind and wet pavement. The airplane departed the end of the runway, co…

At about 1512 eastern time, a Cessna 182B lost engine power in cruise flight near Hartwood and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The pilot said he departed Hartwood Airport with 2 inches of fuel in each tank. The pilot flew over the local area for approximately one hour, and then the engine lost power. Examination of the wreckage revealed there was no fuel in either tank….

At 1634 central time, a Cessna 150M crashed while attempting what a witness described as an aerobatic flight maneuver. The pilot suffered serious injuries. The flight departed from a field near Kincaid at an unconfirmed time. The 150 was not certified in the acrobatic category….

At about 1530 eastern time, a Cessna 310 crashed shortly after takeoff from Merritt Island Airport. The pilot was killed. Witnesses at the airport said the pilot started the No. 2 engine first and that it was missing, sputtering, and back firing. The pilot then started the No. 1 engine, and performed engine runups with either one or both engines making the same loud missing, sputtering and backfiring noises. Despite the noises, the pilot proceeded to take off on runway 11, with one or both engines making unusual noises. One witness said he noticed the right propeller stop turning and saw the airplane banking toward the dead engine. The airplane crashed into a swamp about a half mile so…

At about 1330 eastern time, a Cessna 172M, N9840V, and a Cessna 172N, N6101F, collided while in cruise flight near Coral Springs. N9840V was destroyed, and the private-rated student and flight instructor were killed. N6101F incurred substantial damage, and the private-rated dual student and the commercial-rated flight instructor in N6101F were able to make a successful forced landing without injuries. Both flights originated from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport about 45 minutes earlier. The two airplanes were in a practice area that included the transmission tower for an AM radio station that some instructors use for ADF training. The surviving student pilot said they were receiving fluctu…

At about 2000 Alaska time, a Cessna 207 struck terrain during cruise flight about four miles southeast of Marshall. The pilot suffered serious injuries. The airplane was equipped with Capstone equipment, which uses GPS, a terrain database and a multifunction display to portray terrain threats. The pilot said he was experiencing a strong headwind and turbulence and the Capstone display was almost completely red just before impact. The airplane was located about 1,200 feet msl on the north side of a 1,714-foot ridgeline….

At 0950 eastern time, a Piper PA-28R-200 struck trees and crashed while maneuvering near Laurel Bloomery. The pilot received minor injuries. The pilot said he was practicing maneuvers in the local area when he encountered clear ice at 6,500 feet msl. He descended to 3,500 feet in an attempt to get below the icing conditions but was still picking up ice. He descended in a valley to 2,300 feet, and when he attempted to climb out of the valley struck the wooded terrain. The pilot telephoned rescue personnel via cell phone and was rescued at 1830….