Preliminary Reports

At 19:53 EST, a Beech A36 undershot the landing on runway 27 at the Oakland International Airport. Neither occupant was injured. The pilot made an instrument approach and said he broke out of the cloud layer at 600 feet agl. The airplane touched down a quarter-mile short of the runway in a soft, rough, grassy area. An inspector who arrived on scene 2.5 hours after the accident said there was about two inches of ice on the airplane….

At 13:15 EST, a Piper PA-23-160 hit the ground short of runway 18 at the Titusville Space Coast Regional Airport. Both occupants were injured. The flight had originated from Titusville Dunn Air Park at an unknown time. There was no evidence of fuel at the accident site….

At 10:16 PST, a Cessna 182Q crashed during takeoff from Fallbrook Community Airpark. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. A witness said the pilot taxied from his hangar to the departure end of runway 18 and did not perform a pretakeoff engine run-up or cycle the propeller. The airplane took off and climbed to about 300 feet, at which point the engine quit. The aircraft cleared utility lines that ran along the airport boundary then pitched forward, impacting the ground in a nose-low attitude. Investigators found the fuel selector handle slightly displaced from the both position and the fuel boost pump switch in the off position. Fuel was found in the line immediate…

At 15:35 PDT, a Vans RV-6A dragged the left wing tip while turning from base to final for runway 20 at Sacramento Executive Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot told investigators he had been cleared for a short approach in front of another airplane that was on a straight-in approach. He stated that as he turned from base to final over the runway, the left wing tip struck the pavement. The airplane then struck the runway, shearing off the nose gear and collapsing the main gear….

At about 17:30 CST, a Cessna 150H crashed in Dandridge, seriously injuring the pilot. The pilot experienced engine trouble and elected to return to his private airstrip. He was maneuvering to approach the strip when he concluded that he didnt have enough altitude. He set up to land on a road when he saw a vehicle in the road, so he opted to land in the trees. He said that at treetop level he stalled the airplane and let it fall tail first into the trees. The empennage broke off and the airplane fell nose first to the ground….

At approximately 16:30 MST, a Piper PA-18-150 was damaged during a forced landing near Belen. The two occupants were not injured. The pilot had just been issued his private certificate the morning of the accident flight and was taking his brother for a ride. The pilot said the engine lost power shortly after he took off from an open field….

At 09:30 CDT, a Learjet 35A operating as a training flight crashed near Marianna, killing the crew of two and a commercial pilot in the jump seat. The airplane had departed from Opa Locka, Fla., more than an hour earlier for the left-seat pilot to retake a Learjet type rating checkride he had failed several days earlier. The pilot was on an IFR flight plan in VMC when he canceled his IFR flight plan over the VOR, and reported the airport in sight. The distance from the VOR to the airport was 4 miles. Several witnesses saw the airplane enter right traffic at a low altitude for a landing on runway 36. The airplane was seen turning right from base to final, at which point it pitched nose high,…

At about 14:35 EST, a Cessna 310D and a Beech A36 collided while approaching to land on runway 07 at Witham Field. The pilot of the 310 and the two occupants of the Bonanza were uninjured. An IFR flight plan was on file for the Bonanza and visual conditions existed. The pilot of the 310 skirted the class C airspace at Palm Beach and was told to report a four-mile right base for runway 7. Then he was cleared for the visual approach. He reported hearing Witham Tower clear the Bonanza for the GPS runway 12 approach. After he was established on final at about 800 feet, he heard a loud noise and saw the Bonanza on his right. He landed and found the fuel cap of the left wing tip tank was missing,…

At 18:25 CST, a Cessna 152 struck railroad tracks during an aborted landing near Fort Worth. The solo student pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was doing touch and goes at Hicks Airfield when he overshot the turn to final. When he recovered, the airplane touched down on the right main, bounced to the left main and turned 45 degrees to the runway. He added full power to go around, but the left wing struck a tree and the airplane crashed onto railroad tracks….

At approximately 07:30 CDT, an Ayres S2R-G6 agricultural airplane lost power and made a forced landing near Pioneer. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The pilot said the engine spooled down during the pass over the field and he diverted to an adjacent open field for the forced landing, during which the airplane nosed over. Maintenance records showed aircraft total time as 3,446 hours, with a reported 8,395 flight hours on the Garrett TPE 331 engine since the last major overhaul. Total flight time since a hot section and gearbox change was 793 hours….