Preliminary Reports

At 1708 central time, an Aviat S-2C crashed following an aerobatic flight near Sheridan, killing the flight instructor and pilot. A witness reported observing the airplane perform aerobatic maneuvers adjacent to the accident site for approximately five minutes prior to the accident. He stated that the airplane climbed to approximately 1,500 – 2,000 feet above the ground in a pure vertical maneuver that ended in a tail slide. The airplane then fell backwards toward the ground for approximately 200 feet and began to spin inverted for approximately 6-10 turns….

About 2036 eastern time, a Cessna 310L crashed while making an instrument approach to Cortland County Chase Airport. The pilot was killed. The pilot was cleared for the VOR-A approach. Approximately 13 miles south of the airport at 3,600 feet, the pilot requested the controller to advise him when the airplane was over the final approach fix. The controller responded he would be unable due to the lack of radar coverage in the area, so the pilot cancelled his IFR clearance. About 5 minutes later, the airplane impacted trees approximately 5.5 miles south of the airport. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane at 80 to 300 feet agl shortly before the crash. One witness said visibility was approxi…

At about 1600 eastern time, a Cessna 208B was idling on the ramp when a parachutist was seriously injured by landing on the rotating propeller. The pilot said he stopped after landing and looked for parachutes still in the air. He did not see any and taxied back to the ramp. As he was loading the next group of jumpers, the pilot heard screams and saw a canopy enter the propeller. He shut down the engine and found the injured jumper. The parachutist had completed about 18 prior jumps, including four jumps at that airport. The pilot estimated that the normal parachutist landing zone was between 50 to 300 feet from the ramp area. Winds at the time of the accident were calm….

At about 1535 eastern time, a Mooney M20E struck trees after takeoff from Eagles Nest Airport, killing the pilot. Two witnesses said they heard the engine sputter and noticed the airplane was not climbing normally. The wreckage was found 176 feet west of the runway centerline and about 2,000 feet beyond the approach end of runway 14. There was no debris path and only one tree in the vicinity of the wreckage exhibited impact damage, implying a near-vertical descent. Post crash testing found traces of water in the fuel servo and fuel manifold, however investigators said that was inconclusive because the engine sat overnight before the fuel system was inspected….

The following briefs were selected from the 170 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in September 2002. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed. Click here to view “Accident Totals, September.”

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September 01, Stow, Mass.
Champion Citabria
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…

At about 14:30 PST, a Beech 95 hit the ground after an inadvertent shutdown of one engine while landing at the Henderson airport. Neither the instructor nor the student pilot was injured. Investigators determined that the aircraft was on approach when the student pilot, who was flying, changed fuel tanks. He inadvertently shut off fuel to the right engine as he was looking for traffic. There was confusion in the cockpit and the appropriate emergency procedures were not executed. The flight instructor had assumed control when the aircraft struck the ground with a windmilling propeller….

At about 17:20 EST, an Aerospatiale 355 medical helicopter was destroyed when it struck a house while attempting a precautionary landing due to weather. The pilot, flight doctor and flight nurse sustained serious injuries. The helicopter departed St. Vincent Hospital to transport a patient from William County Hospital to the Medical College of Ohio. When he was approximately 4 miles to the west of St. Vincent, the pilot elected to return because of weather. While en route to St. Vincent, the pilot received a report from a company pilot who was operating between St. Vincent and William County. That pilot reported 2 to 3 miles of visibility and one or two snow squalls that could easily be circ…

At approximately 17:32 CST, the two occupants of a Cessna 150H were killed when the airplane crashed at Marksville Municipal Airport while the runway was closed for reconstruction. The flight originated from Zapata, Texas, at approximately 09:00, and two refueling stops were made. At 17:32, a witness observed the airplane on a normal landing approach to runway 22 at Marksville. The witness watched the airplane until it disappeared behind a tree line, at which time he saw the tail section go up into the air. He proceeded to the accident site and found the aircraft on top of a large mound of dirt, upside down, heading east. The FAA had issued a NOTAM on October 12 stating that the airpor…

At about 06:30 CST, a Beech Sierra went into a ditch and struck a tree during taxi to takeoff at Philadelphia Airport. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The pilot told investigators he had trouble getting the left wing tie down rope through the wing tie down fitting the night before the accident, due to a knot in the rope. Before his departure, he remembered untying the tie down ropes but did not remember struggling with the left tie down rope to get the knotted end back through the fitting. As he applied engine power to begin taxiing, the aircraft jerked. He said he may have pushed the engine throttle further forward as the aircraft jerked. The aircraft turned 180 degrees and he reduced th…

At approximately 14:00 CST, a Beech BE-95 was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway during a practice engine failure on takeoff maneuver at the Mesquite Municipal Airport. Neither occupant was injured. the instructor said that, after the student applied takeoff power, the instructor covered the mixture controls with a plastic checklist, and pulled the right engines mixture lever to idle cutoff. The student was not able to maintain directional control, and before the instructor could take the controls, the aircraft departed the runway on the right side onto soft, muddy ground. The nose gear collapsed, the left propeller struck the ground, and the fuselage buckled….