Preliminary Reports

At 0720 mountain time, a Cessna 182 dragged a wing tip during a forced landing at the Deer Valley Airport. The pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight was originating when the pilot heard a loud bang just after liftoff. The engine lost power and the pilot attempted to turn back to the runway….

At approximately 1950 Pacific time, a Cessna 441 suffered a collapsed right main gear during the landing roll at Rogue Valley International Airport. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The pilot said the gear retraction after takeoff from Lake Tahoe Airport did not feel normal and it appeared as though the gear cycle did not end. He re-cycled the gear and noted that both the gear transition light and the hydraulic light failed to extinguish at the end of the cycle. He pulled the landing gear circuit breaker to turn the hydraulic pump off. Passengers visually confirmed that the right main gear was not retracted. Prior to landing the pilot observed three green lights on the gear p…

At about 0958 eastern time, a Piper PA-46-310P crashed just after takeoff from Naples Municipal Airport. All three aboard were killed. Witnesses said the airplane departed runway 5 and climbed only to a low altitude by the time it got to the departure end of the runway, where it made a steep right turn, spun and crashed….

At 1030 mountain time, a Cessna 172M was damaged during a hard touch-and-go at Telluride Regional Airport. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The cross-country flight originated at Cortez, Colo., and after the hard landing the airplane continued to Albuquerque. The pilot reported the airplane porpoised during the touch-and-go landing at Telluride, and a post-flight inspection found a wrinkled firewall and the outer 2.5 inches of one propeller blade was bent aft 40 degrees….

At approximately 1300 Pacific time, a Beech G-35 suffered apparent flutter damage while descending into McAllister Field. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. The pilot said he was cruising at about 150 mph when he experienced light to moderate turbulence. He initiated a 1000 fpm descent about 15 nautical miles northwest of McAllister Field, holding an indicated airspeed of 170 to 180 mph. During the descent, the pilot noted an airframe vibration. Post-flight inspection revealed wrinkling of the aircrafts aft-bulkhead….

At about 1235 eastern time, a Cessna 150D suffered an in-flight electrical fire and burst into flames after landing at Ball Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said he towed a glider to 2,500 feet agl and was returning to the airport when he noticed smoke from under the right side of the instrument panel. The smoke became flames shortly before he got to the airport, and he landed, stopped and exited the airplane as quickly as possible….

At 1659 mountain time, a Beech 58P crashed during a go-around attempt at Jeffco Airport. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot said he was landing on runway 11L when a crosswind gust struck the aircraft. He decided to go around and applied full power amd raised the landing gear. The airplane continued to settle onto the runway, then slid off the left side….

At approximately 16:10 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-181 struck terrain while maneuvering about 20 miles west of Sheridan. The pilot was not injured, but his passenger sustained a serious injury. The pilot was flying IFR from Pierre, S.D., to Red Lodge, Mont. West of Sheridan, he cancelled his IFR flight plan and received VFR flight following as he started crossing the Big Horn Mountains. He turned up a valley and soon realized the terrain was rising faster than the airplane could climb. Terrain proximity precluded him from turning around, so he elected to land in a meadow. Both wings and the fuselage were buckled….

At about 19:03 eastern time, a Robinson R22 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 100 yards offshore of Marathon, leaving the flight instructor and student pilot with minor injuries. The flight had departed Key West at about 15:30 with another helicopter en route to Fort Lauderdale Executive. No weather briefing had been obtained. They entered IMC and the R22 turned toward clear skies in the east while the other helicopter landed. The accident helicopter flew to Indian Key Island and landed to wait out the weather. The CFI got a weather briefing, which told of a line of thunderstorms along the route of flight. The weather improved and the pilot departed the island. He flew toward a highway h…

At about 20:10 Pacific time, a Beech A36TC crashed near San Juan Bautista, killing all four occupants. The flight was en route from Mammoth Lakes to Watsonville. IMC prevailed. The pilot was not instrument rated, nor did he file a flight plan. According to air traffic controllers, the airplane was cruising at 8,000 feet when the controller advised the pilot to switch frequencies to a new sector. The pilot acknowledged the frequency change and reported he was going to spiral down through a hole in the clouds. He never checked in on the new frequency. The next afternoon a rancher noticed a burned area on his property, went to investigate and discovered the wreckage, which was 12 miles from the…