Preliminary Reports

At about 14:10 EST, a Rockwell Commander crashed while on final approach to New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport. The private-rated pilot, a German citizen, received serious injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight originated from the same airport about 45 minutes before the accident. A witness said the pilot was making touch-and-go landings to runway 29 when the aircraft appeared to go low on approach. The plane hit brush growing outside the airport boundary, struck a road sign and then the ground. The airplane came to rest against the airport perimeter fence and burned….

At 09:30 EST, a Cessna 152 on an instructional flight was substantially damaged during a forced landing near the Duanesburg Airport. Neither occupant was injured. The student was practicing emergency procedures and successfully accomplished a touch-and-go after the first simulated engine failure. While on downwind, the instructor simulated the second engine failure. The student turned toward the runway, but at 400 feet the instructor realized they would not make it. He advanced the throttle, but the engine did not respond. The instructor was only able to insure that the throttle and fuel selector were properly set before the airplane struck a tree, stalled, and fell to the ground. Weather co…

At approximately 14:00 CST, a Cessna 337 was destroyed by fire after crashing while attempting a go-around maneuver on runway 33 at the Lufkin Municipal Airport. The two occupants received minor injuries. Upon entering the traffic pattern for runway 33, the pilot received airport advisory information stating that the winds were from 010 degrees at 6 knots. On final approach to land, he reported that he flared the aircraft late, and the aircraft bounced. The second bounce was really high, the pilot said, with the aircraft drifting to the left. After the airplane bounced a third time, the pilot called for a go-around. The pilot then applied power and the airplane immediately entered a sev…

At about 16:15 EST, a Cessna 150F nosed over during a forced landing in a field near New Brockton after running out of fuel. The flight originated at an unknown time from Enterprise, Ala. The pilot told inspectors that he received the airplane with the tank half-full of fuel and could not purchase more because of the Thanksgiving holiday. He flew some passengers around the local area and, on the third flight, the engine failed….

At about 01:30 EDT, a Cessna 208B was substantially damaged during landing at Hamilton International Airport. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot was conducting a scheduled Part 135 cargo flight between Akron, Ohio, and Hamilton. Investigators said the pilot flew the Back Course Runway 30R approach and touched down about halfway down the wet runway. The airplane continued off the end of the runway and collided with part of the high intensity runway lighting system….

At about 13:11 EST, a Cessna 172 and a Let L-13 glider collided while on final approach to the Okeechobee County Airport. The Cessna was substantially damaged but the student pilot was not injured. The glider sustained minor damage and the sole occupant was not injured. The Cessna pilot said that he announced his position on the Unicom frequency and entered the traffic pattern on a left downwind for runway 13. At that time he observed the glider aircraft flying southeast. The Cessna then turned left base, announced it on Unicom, then heard the glider pilot announce that he was on a left downwind for runway 13. The Cessna pilot turned onto final and announced his position. He then felt an imp…

About 14:45 EST, the pilot of a Cessna 150 aborted a takeoff at Macivor Field, a private airstrip near Pembroke Pines, and collided with a fence and guardrail. There were no injuries. The pilot said that after rotation he was not comfortable with his altitude in relation to trees off the departure end of the runway and aborted the takeoff late….

At 09:18 CST a Beech King Air collided with the ground following a missed approach to Cullman Airport. The pilot and passenger were killed. Shortly before the accident the airplane was cleared to fly an NDB approach to runway 20. The pilot then contacted ATC at Huntsville and informed them that he was executing a missed approach. The aircraft impacted the ground three miles northwest of the airport. Several witnesses stated that they could hear the airplane flying low over their homes but could not see it due to the foggy conditions….

About 18:00 EST, a Piper Aerostar was substantially damaged when it lost power and crashed while on approach to the Lynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn Field Airport. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane had just received an annual inspection and the pilot was returning from ferrying a maintenance pilot home. The airplane was on approach to runway 21 when the pilot radioed to the Lynchburg Air Traffic Control Tower that one of the airplanes engines had lost power. About 4 minutes later, the pilot reported that the airplanes second engine had lost power and declared an emergency. The airplane crashed about 4 miles northeast of LYH. Approximately 1.5 gallons of fuel was drained from th…

About 04:45 PST, all four occupants of a Beech Bonanza were killed when the airplane struck high terrain near Chino. The flight had originated at Corona, Calif., enroute to Lake Tahoe. The Chino airport reported visual conditions and a 1,100-foot overcast at the time of the accident. Radar data showed a target that initially headed west, turned north, and then made a 360-degree turn to the left. The initial recorded altitude of the target was 900 feet mean sea level (msl) and the last recorded altitude was 2,400 feet msl. The terrain around the crash site showed extensive fire damage. Preliminary examination of the wreckage indicated that the airplane struck the ground while in cruise config…