Preliminary Reports

At about 06:30 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Piper PA-18 collided with snow-covered terrain 33.5 miles west-northwest of Kotzebue. The pilot, who held an expired student pilot certificate, was killed. Passing villagers found the airplane inverted about one mile east of the coast near Cape Krusentern and notified the Alaska State Troopers office in Kotzebue at about 19:00. Family members said the pilot departed Kivalina about 05:30 with a load of whale meat after traveling to Kivalina the day before the accident. The weather conditions reported by villagers in the area of the accident included low ceilings, fog, and scattered snow showers….

At 08:18 PDT, a homebuilt Christavia Mark I kitplane pitched down and crashed while on short final to runway 34 at McNary Field. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot reported that he took off from runway 13 for the initial test flight following installation of a new engine. The airplane was nose-heavy during climb out and the pilot declared an emergency and turned back toward the field. During the approach the nose of the aircraft abruptly pitched down when the pilot reduced power for landing. He was unable to recover control. The center of gravity at the time of the accident was found to lie one-half inch forward of the forward-most cg limit for the airplane. The pilot/builder reported that h…

At 19:13 EDT, the right wing assembly of a Cessna 501 suffered damage when the airplane landed with the right main landing gear partially extended. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot said he silenced the landing gear warning horn while en route then forgot to lower the gear before landing. Just prior to touch down the pilot attempted to lower the landing gear. The airplane touched down with the landing gear in transit, and the right landing gear collapsed….

At 10:30 PDT, a Beech 65-90 became entangled with a deploying parachute. The accident sequence was filmed by several video cameras from different angles and perspectives. While stabilized at 20,000 feet msl and 180 knots, two crewmembers in the back of the aircraft ejected a 331-pound dummy rigged with a main and reserve parachute. As the dummy cleared the doorway, the pilot chute from the main parachute deployed, immediately followed by the deployment of the drogue chute. The drogue chute traveled above the left horizontal stabilizer while the dummy fell below. The dummy became entangled on the left horizontal stabilizer and the aircraft made an uncommanded noseover into a negative G arc. T…

At about 14:30 EDT, a Schweizer SGS 2-33 crashed on landing at Herlong Airport, Jacksonville, Florida. The student pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was maneuvering over the airport, executing steep turns to dissipate his altitude in preparation for a landing, but as he flew the landing pattern, he saw he was too far from the airport. During maneuvering to reach the airport, he entered a spin, recovered from the spin and then maneuvered to avoid wires. During the subsequent landing, the glider collided with shrubs and small branches….

At about 17:00 CDT, a Beech F35 was damaged during descent toward Jackson. VMC prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The pilot was not injured. The pilot reported that he was descending in smooth air at 650 fpm to 4,000 feet when he heard a woofing noise coming from the tail. The controls shook continuously. The airplane power settings were 16 inches of manifold pressure and 2,100 rpm, and the indicated airspeed varied from 155 to 160 mph. The pilot said that the sound went away after he reduced power to idle. He put the gear down and stabilized the airspeed at 120 mph, then landed without further incident. After landing the pilot noted that there was extensive damage in the area of…

At 10:00 MST, a Cessna T210L departed the runway while landing at Show Low. The pilot and two passengers received minor injuries. The other two passengers were not injured. According to a pilot-rated passenger seated in the right front seat, the pilot unsuccessfully tried to get a wind and runway advisory from Unicom and did not overfly the airfield or make a low pass along the runway. After turning final, the aircraft drifted off course to the left, and then began to weathervane to the right during the rollout on the runway. The aircraft then crossed the centerline and off the right side of the runway. The pilot added power and returned to the runway, but crossed the centerline again and ra…

At about 18:40 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 170B crashed after losing power. The pilot was not injured. The pilot reported that the engine failed while in cruise flight at about 600 feet agl and he could not get it started again….

At about 18:15 EDT, a Mooney M-20C collided with a wooden pallet and other materials during landing rollout at Sossamon Field. The pilot, who was uninjured, said he was going to the airport to talk to the airport manager about debris being stored next to the runway. The airplane encountered a quartering crosswind during the landing. It drifted to the right on landing rollout, and the right wing tip collided with a wood pallet. The airplane pulled to the right, went across an apron and collided with stored material, collapsing the nose gear….

At about 20:10 CDT, a passenger on Southwest Airlines Flight 1857 sustained a fractured wrist while jumping from the airplane after arrival at Nashville. The Boeing 737-500 was about one hour into a ramp hold due to a weather-induced airport power outage and subsequent gate unavailability. Prior to jumping from the airplane, the passenger repeatedly left his seat, approached a flight attendant at one of the aft entry doors and told her he needed some air. She directed him to reseat himself. On the third such encounter the passenger grabbed the flight attendants hair, opened the slightly ajar door and jumped to the tarmac. The flight attendant remained aboard the airplane and was not injured…