Preliminary Reports

At about 18:13 CST, a Piper PA-24-260 crashed into West Bay approximately three miles from Panama City-Bay County International Airport, killing the pilot. IMC prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was en route from Luverne, Ala., and the pilot contacted the Panama City control tower when he was six miles out. The controller advised him to enter a left downwind to runway 32, then advised him that the weather conditions at the airport were below VFR minimums. The pilot said he did not have the field in sight and was at 900 feet. He said he would fly north and was told to contact Jacksonville Center, which he did. Radar data showed that, in the five minutes before the accident, th…

At 13:18 MST, a Pilatus PC-7 being delivered from the factory in Switzerland crashed after a low approach at Jefferson County Airport. The Swiss-registered pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was killed. The pilot initiated the five-day trip on Jan. 10, with a final destination of Broomfield, where the company has a corporate office. The pilot asked the Tower for permission to perform a low go-around on runway 29R. The pilot was cleared for an optional approach and was instructed to continue in right traffic. Several witnesses observed the aircraft at approximately 100 to 150 feet agl at the midfield point of the runway perform two 360-degree rolls to the right, followed by one 360-degree ro…

At about 18:30 EDT, an Air & Space 18A gyrocopter crashed while maneuvering in the traffic pattern at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport. The pilot was seriously injured. Witnesses said the aircraft jumped into the air in about 30 to 50 feet, made a right turn down runway 32 climbing to about 150 to 200 feet, turned right crosswind, leveled and climbed another 100 feet. The aircraft then turned right, leveled briefly and began another right bank that continued until the rotor blades were nearly vertical. The gyroplane slid sideways toward the ground and collided with the terrain….

At about 22:13 PST, an Aerospatiale AS350B helicopter televising the Academy Awards ceremony crashed on landing approach to Van Nuys. The pilot and cameraman were seriously injured. While hovering over the event, the helicopter experienced a total loss of hydraulic pressure. The pilot opted to return to Van Nuys, about 15 miles away, instead of going to Santa Monica, five miles away. The flight was escorted back to Van Nuys airport by another news helicopter, with radio calls being made by the escorting pilot to relieve the workload of the pilot. The escorting pilot requested priority handling from the Van Nuys control tower. The helicopter appeared about 15 to 20 feet agl when it started a…

At 09:50 CST, a Cessna 152 crashed while maneuvering near Carlisle, killing the student pilot. A witness said he was traveling north on Highway 13 when he saw an aircraft to his west descending straight down, and he watched the aircraft until it went out of view behind some trees. He further reported that he could see the bottom of the aircrafts wings and fuselage and thought the aircraft was a model airplane until he saw black smoke rising from behind the trees. The aircrafts engine was found buried 4 feet deep in the initial ground impact crater….

At about 10:30 PDT, a Cessna 150H overran the runway while returning to land at Lopez Island Airport. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot said he took off and encountered IMC about 200 feet agl. He turned back to the airport and proceeded to land, but the airplane touched down approximately 2,600 feet down the 2,900-foot runway. The aircraft traveled off the departure end of the runway and collided with a fence….

At 20:00 PST, a Piper PA-38-112 lost power and was damaged landing on a country road near Kern Valley Airport. The two occupants were not injured. The flight had originated from Las Vegas at 16:00 and was scheduled to terminate at Fresno, Calif. The pilot said he planned to stop for fuel at Inyokern, Calif. The pilot reported that approximately 45 minutes into the flight his passenger became agitated and wanted to land. He diverted to Trona, Calif., approximately 25 miles from Inyokern, to take care of his passenger. There were no fuel services at Trona and he took off and continued the flight to Fresno, without stopping at Inyokern to refuel. The pilot reported to flight following that he w…

At 11:24 PST, an amateur-built RAF 2000 GTX SE gyrocopter crashed on the runway at Perkins Field Airport, killing the pilot. The pilot had recently purchased the aircraft and this was his first flight in it. A witness saw the pilot in closed traffic, porpoising through the air on downwind. During the base leg, the gyrocopter appeared to be flying straight and level. The witness then saw the gyrocopter turn on final, saw it porpoising again, then saw it turn on its side and fall inverted to the ground….

At 21:05 CDT, a Bellanca 7ECA was damaged while landing at Arlington Municipal Airport. The student pilot was not injured. The owner said the pilot, who was an A&P mechanic, was authorized to taxi the airplane following maintenance but decided to fly the airplane once around the traffic pattern. Upon landing on runway 16, the airplane exited the runway and flipped inverted. The student pilot did not have a tailwheel endorsement….

At 14:24 EST, a Cessna 172P crashed after departure from Saratoga County Airport, killing the flight instructor and the student pilot. The airplane departed runway 23 and began its climb. Witnesses differed on whether the climb was unusually steep, with one saying the climb attitude was normal and another equating it to biplanes he had seen … during airshows. The three witnesses did agree that the aircraft seemed to suffer a power loss, then banked steeply left and descend in what would be consistent with a stall/spin. A post-crash fire made determining the aircrafts pre-crash mechanical condition difficult. Damage to the propeller indicates the engine was producing little power on impact…