Preliminary Reports

At 1110 central time, a Cessna 177RG lost engine power and was damaged in the forced landing that followed. The pilot was not injured. The pilot reported he had taken off about five minutes earlier when the engine started to lose power. The pilot turned the airplane back toward the airport. The engine regained power and the pilot elected to continue the flight. Approximately 25 minutes later, while cruising at 3,000 feet msl, the engine gradually lost power. Unable to restart the engine, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field, whereupon the airplane struck a ditch, flipped over and came to rest inverted….

At 1627 mountain time, a Cessna T210M struck terrain while maneuvering 16 miles northeast of Laramie, killing the pilot. Instrument meteorological conditions existed at the accident site and the airplane had been on an IFR flight plan. The pilot was at FL170 when he requested a descent to 13,000 feet to see if we can work our way through these clouds. Ten minutes later he reported he was presently about 39 miles to the northwest of Laramie. Got a pretty big opening. Im gonna cancel out on this IFR. I think I can make a big circle and get under this scattered layer… Radar contact was lost seven minutes later after the airplane had made three 360-degree turns and was at 10,500 feet. The…

At 1440 eastern time, a Taylorcraft 15A struck power lines shortly after taking off from Somerset County Airport. The flight instructor and airplane owner were not injured. The flight instructor said he and the pilot had traveled to Maryland to inspect and pick up the newly purchased airplane and fly it back to Michigan. The buyer was a commercial pilot but was not current in the airplane and had asked the flight instructor to accompany him and provide flight instruction while en route to Michigan. The day before the accident, the flight instructor flew the airplane alone for about 30 minutes and talked to the seller about the airplanes slow climb rate, which was about 300-400 feet per minu…

At about 2320 Pacific time, a Cessna 310L landed gear up on runway 30L at North Las Vegas Airport. None of the five aboard was injured. The pilot told investigators he was distracted from his pre-landing checklist by looking for traffic and forgot to extend the landing gear. He did not notice the green gear-down indicators were not illuminated and the gear warning horn did not activate until about a second before the propellers struck the runway. The control tower was closed, and air traffic controllers at another airport were notified that the airplane was disabled on the runway. No flight service station was notified and no notam was issued. At about 0545 the next morning a departing airpl…

At about 1150 eastern time, a Champion 7ECA struck a parked vehicle while landing at the Minute Man Air Field. The pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The pilot was landing on runway 30 when the airplane began to porpoise and veer to the right. The pilot added power but the airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck a car. Winds reported at an airport about 11 miles east were from 120 degrees at 8 knots….

At 1202 mountain time, a Cessna 172 encountered jet blast from a Boeing 737 at Tucson International Airport and suffered wing and propeller damage. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The Cessna had landed on runway 11R and was taxiing to the ramp. A United 737 was holding short for takeoff on runway 11L as the Cessna taxied behind it. The flight instructor reported that he was discussing jet blast awareness with his student as they were passing the jet. They taxied as far to the right side of the taxiway as they could. As the Cessna began to move back toward the middle of the taxiway, the left wing rose into the air and the right wing hit the ground two times and the p…

At 1915 central time, a Cessna TR182 crashed while following high-tension power lines during an aerial reconnaissance mission. The pilot and passenger were killed. In the area of the crash, there were two sets of power lines running parallel, with one set of lines slightly lower than the other. Witnesses said the airplane was flying along the south side of the lines, slightly lower than the height of the lower set of towers. At the accident site, the higher set of power lines, which was to the north, makes a 90-degree turn across the lower lines. There was no indication the airplane struck either the power lines or one of the towers….

At about 1200 eastern time, a Piper PA-18 lost engine power near Belmar and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot was not injured. The airplane has just taken off from Belmar, en route to Hollywood, Fla., and was level at 1,200 feet when the pilot reported the engine smoothly lost power. The airplane touched down in a soccer field and struck a fence as the pilot was trying to avoid people. At the time the power failed, the pilot had just switched from the left fuel tank to the right inboard tank. Inspection of the right inboard tank and the fuel system revealed oily deposits the pilot described as a fuel additive. Examination of the engine revealed low compression on all cylin…

At 2150 central time, a Cessna 152 lost engine power while on approach to Crystal Airport and was damaged in the forced landing that followed. Neither occupant was injured. The pilot said the flight departed Crystal with no less than 20 gallons of fuel at about 1815. They planned to make a sightseeing flight and a few landings at Cloquet Carlton County Airport, which the pilot estimated would take 2.5 hours with the forecast winds aloft of 5 to 15 knots. However, on the return flight they encountered headwinds of 40 knots and the airplane ran out of fuel….

At approximately 1439 central time, a Cessna 182P was damaged during a precautionary landing on a dirt road. The pilot was not injured but the landing gear struck a hole, a wingtip hit the ground and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported being en route when he became severely disoriented. He was unable to get the GPS or avionics to function correctly and could not verify his position or heading. His confusion mounted and he decided to land the airplane. A post-accident examination of the pilot revealed he had bleeding on the brain, which may have stemmed from a motorcycle accident in June. He had been cleared to return to flying in August and had successfully completed a flight a few d…