Preliminary Reports

At 14:45 EDT, an American Airlines A300 landed successfully after the flightcrew experienced multiple rudder deflections that caused the airplane to yaw excessively from side to side while on final approach to runway 9R. There were no reported injuries. During the initial approach to runway 9R, as the crew configured the airplane for landing with flaps 40 degrees and the landing gear down, the airplane began to yaw left and right. The flightcrew said the rudder pedals did not move, but the yaw was enough that the captain abandoned the approach. During the go around the yaw deviations increased and became extreme. Initial examination of the flight data recorded shows that that rudder deviated…

At approximately 09:05 MDT, a Cessna 172Q and a Cessna T210N collided while on approach four miles west of the Greeley-Weld County Airport. Each plane contained a rated pilot receiving flight instruction. None of the four pilots were injured and both airplanes landed safely at Greeley. VMC prevailed and both airplanes were on IFR flight plans. The instructor in the 172 requested radar vectors for an ILS approach to runway 9 and canceled his IFR flight plan after turning onto the final approach. During that time he said he heard the controller clear the 210 for a VOR-A approach. The 172 instructor changed to the Unicom frequency and reported he was on a four-mile final to runway 9. Shortly af…

At 17:54 Alaska daylight time, a Piper Pacer ran off the edge of runway 19 at the Dillingham airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot said that during his initial taxi, the airplane did not steer correctly, but he could not determine the reason and decided to return to parking. During the return taxi on runway 19, the pilot was unable to control the turn. After the accident, the pilot discovered that the external rudder gust lock was still installed….

At about 11:32 PDT, a Cessna 172M crashed into a hangar at Omak Airport. The pilot said the engine would not turn over so he elected to hand-prop the aircraft. Once the engine started, the aircraft jumped the chocks and traveled 100 feet across the tarmac and struck a hangar….

At approximately 17:25 MDT, the pilot and passenger in a Piper Apache were killed when it crashed about one mile northeast of the Tucumcari Municipal Airport. The airplane departed Dallas, Texas, approximately 13:30 CDT, and was en route to Albuquerque. It landed for fuel at Tucumcari and was serviced with 54 gallons of fuel, then departed. At 17:17, the pilot advised Albuquerque Center that the left engine was smoking badly and that he was feathering the propeller. At 17:21, he advised he was returning to Tucumcari. The airport manager and the weather observer saw the airplane fly over runway 21 with the landing gear retracted. They radioed the pilot that his landing gear was still retrac…

At about 14:04 EDT, a Classic Aircraft S-51D experimental airplane registered to the company crashed near Tamarac, killing the pilot. The flight had departed the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at 13:49 as part of the 40-hour test period required for certification. The pilot was about five miles west of the airport when he radioed the control tower that he was having a problem raising the landing gear and he wanted to return to the airport. At 14:04, he radioed that he had lost the engine. Radar and radio contact was lost shortly thereafter. A witness in the area said he heard the engine losing power and sputtering and saw the aircraft make a controlled descent to the ground. After impact…

At 20:30 CDT, a Rutan Vari-Eze crashed shortly after takeoff from the Enterprise Airport. The pilot said he had forgotten to remove the fuel vent cover during his preflight inspection. Shortly after takeoff the engine lost power….

American Airlines Flight 1420 crashed after landing at Little Rock. There were thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area at the time of the accident. The airplane departed the end of runway, went down an embankment and struck approach light structures. There was a crew of six and 139 passengers on board the airplane. Eleven people were killed in the accident, including the pilot. One person was seriously injured and four suffered minor injuries….

At 09:37 EDT, a homebuilt Long EZ crashed on approach to Potomac Airfield, seriously injuring the pilot. The airplane departed Clinton, Md., at about 08:30 for a planned flight to Macon, Ga., and was later seen north of Potomac Airfield flying low. The accident airplane appeared to enter a right base for runway 24. The airplane overshot the runway, then turned back and entered a left base for the same runway. A witness said it overshot the final approach course, but corrected with a steep turn, and continued making S turns down final approach. As the aircraft got lower, it pitched up and apparently stalled into trees about 200 yards short of the runway. The airplanes canopy was not fo…

At about 20:15 EDT, a homebuilt Acro Sport II crashed near Pence Springs, W.V. The student pilot operating the airplane was seriously injured and his son, a passenger, was killed. A witness at the Hinton-Alderson Airport said the pilot made one takeoff and one landing before taxiing back to pickup his 15-year-old son. Witnesses who where fishing along the Greenbrier River reported that the airplane approached the accident site from the northeast and started to execute a loop. Halfway through the loop the airplane entered a spin, which continued until the airplane struck the ground….