Preliminary Reports

At 07:45 MDT, a Cessna 182J crashed 5.5 miles east of the La Veta-Cuchara Valley Airport, killing the pilot and her passenger. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site and a VFR flight plan was filed to Amarillo, Texas. A witness said the ceiling at the airport was about 500 foot overcast at the time the flight departed. The pilot did not possess an instrument rating and her logbook reported she had no actual instrument flight experience….

About 08:15 PDT, a Piper Archer lost power while climbing to cruise altitude and was damaged in the subsequent forced landing near San Luis Obispo. The flight instructor and student pilot were uninjured. The instructor had received an instrument clearance for an IFR climb to VFR conditions on top. After reaching VFR on top, about 1,800 feet msl, the pilot reported that he applied carburetor heat to the engine. At that point, the engine rpm decreased to 1,800 and then to 1,500. The pilot descended through the cloud deck, broke out at 600 feet, and landed in an open field. Another airplane operated by the same company had recently experienced a loss of engine power and examination of that engi…

At approximately 16:00 PDT, a homebuilt RV-4 lost power on departure from North Bend and was damaged in the ensuing forced landing near Coos Bay. The pilot, who built the aircraft, was seriously injured. The pilot said there were 6 gallons of fuel in the left tank and 16 gallons in the right tank at the time of departure. He said the engine lost power about 1,000 feet agl while running on the left tank. The inspector said he could neither see nor smell any fuel in the aircrafts left tank, but that the right tank, which was breached, did contain fuel. North Bend reported a temperature of 17 C and a dewpoint of 9 C, which are conditions conducive to moderate to serious carb icing….

At 15:10 EDT, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 hit clear air turbulence while in cruise flight at 29,000 feet, approximately 180 miles south of Bermuda. Four flight attendants and 67 passengers suffered minor injuries and one passenger was seriously injured. The flight crew and 87 passengers were uninjured. The captain said the airplane experienced two severe jolts that led to a descent of more than 2,000 feet per minute….

At 16:13 CDT, the pilot of a Cessna 182E died when the plane struck power lines. The flight originated from the East Troy Municipal Airport at approximately 15:45. The aircraft was being flown from the East Troy Municipal Airport to the Aero Park Airport in Menominee Falls after having been used for parachute activity at East Troy. The aircraft came to rest approximately -mile from the approach end of Runway 23 at the Aero Park Airport. A power line 110 feet above the ground was severed….

At approximately 15:20 PDT, an experimental Vans RV-8 built by the pilot suffered an in-flight fire and crashed after an uncontrolled descent 1 mile north of Lafayette. The pilot was killed. Witnesses saw the plane in a shallow descent approximately 200-300 feet above the ground trailing black smoke. The pilot jumped out and was found several hundred yards from the wreckage. Examination of the wreckage confirmed a pre-impact fire in the lower-left aft area of the engine compartment. Additionally, disassembly of the engine revealed extensive particulate material within the engines sump, oil finger screen and oil filter. The number one piston was absent, as was much of the number two connecti…

At about 01:15 CDT, a Cessna 177RG struck a tree during an aborted landing at the Walker County Airport. The pilot reported minor injuries. The pilot said that the airplanes electrical system became inoperative about 22 miles from the airport and he was unable to activate the runway lights. He attempted to land by estimating the location of the runway, based on its relative location to the taxi lights. The airplane touched down on the runway, but the pilot felt the airplane was drifting. He aborted the landing, and on climbout the airplane struck a tree….

At 15:05 EDT, the pilot of a Cessna 150 was killed when the airplane crashed near Hubbard Lake. Witnesses said the airplane was flying 50 to 200 feet above the water when it began a steep climb, then rolled to the left and descended in a steep nose-down attitude until it collided with the ground about 50 feet west of the lakes shoreline….

At about 14:30 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 337B lost power shortly after takeoff from the Seldovia Airport. The pilot and his passenger were seriously injured. The pilot told investigators that he had parked the aircraft about three days before the accident with the main tanks about half full. While making his preflight inspection the day of the accident, he noticed that the fuel gauges indicated the tanks were about one quarter full. He did not visually verify the fuel level in the plane, but planned to make a short flight to Homer to purchase fuel. He took off and, at about 500 feet, both engines began to run rough. He tried to turn back to the runway but didnt have sufficient altitude…

At about 13:55 EDT, a Piper Malibu suffered a minor fire during an en route climb near Allaire Airport. The three people aboard were not injured. The pilot said the airplane was climbing through 12,000 feet feet when heavy black smoke appeared in the cockpit. The pilot declared an emergency and started an emergency descent. During the descent, he noticed that the hydraulic light was on and the hydraulic pressure was zero. The pilot could not move the prop control and the throttle was difficult to move as well, but he landed without further incident. Post-flight inspection of the airplane revealed that the left side turbo clamp had failed….