Preliminary Reports

At 10:33 Pacific time, a Cessna 172L collided with a Cessna 182P while taxiing on taxiway A-4 at Snohomish County Airport. Neither pilot was injured. The pilot of the 172 said he was taxiing forward in a line of aircraft and stopped his aircraft about 10-15 feet behind the Skylane directly ahead. As he waited for his turn, he focused his attention on setting up radio frequencies for his upcoming flight. When he looked up, he noted that his aircraft was rolling forward. He applied brakes and right rudder, which swung the nose of his aircraft to the right, but not before the propeller struck the 182s right horizontal stabilizer and elevator….

At about 18:32 Alaska time, a Cessna 172S crashed into the ocean about 10 miles east of Whittier, killing the pilot. At 17:25 a witness aboard a boat saw the accident airplane flying 10 feet off the water, with the wings rocking back and forth and almost touching the water. The witness gave a statement that said the plane was on a collision course for the cabin and pilothouse of the boat. The body of the aircraft passed between the bow anchor and the pilothouse window. Other boats reported similar experiences over the marine radio. At 18:32, a passing airplane received a distress call from the accident airplane pilot stating that he had a loss of engine power and that he was going down….

At 16:36 eastern time, the pilot of a Bellanca 7ECA lost control and crashed while making a forced landing after losing engine power during initial climb from runway 36 at Westfield Airport. The pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. Witnesses said the aircraft was in a shallow, slow climb when it crossed the departure end of runway 36. At about 150 feet, the engine stopped. The airplane began to turn left and apparently stalled. Examination of the aircraft revealed that the scat-ducting that provided air to the heat-muff was obstructed by two pieces of foam that were inserted into the inlets located on the lower engine cowl….

At 10:40 eastern time, a Piper PA-38 landed about 200 feet short of runway 27 at Delaware Airpark. Neither occupant was injured. The airplane spun around and came to a stop about 20 feet short of the runway….

At about 18:35 Pacific time, a Mooney M20K ran off the runway at Firstair Field while making a precautionary landing following a loss of engine power. The three occupants were not injured. The pilot told police he was about 10 minutes into his flight when the propeller experienced a sudden overspeed. He reduced engine power and turned toward the Monroe airport. About two miles south of the airport, the engine lost power. The pilot said he extended flaps, landing gear and speed brakes but could not hit the approach end of the runway because of his initial fear of giving up altitude too early and hitting fairgrounds. The aircraft landed long, overran the runway, and struck a tree stump in a…

At 15:18 mountain time, a Piper PA-28-161 lost power and collided with objects on the ground during the ensuing forced landing about four miles northwest of Ernest A. Love Field Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot was flying from Mariposa, Calif., to Mesa, Ariz., with a fuel stop in Prescott. He calculated the leg to Prescott would take 4 hours 15 minutes. When he arrived in the area, the pilot informed the Prescott tower he was low on fuel. About five minutes later, he informed the tower that he was out of fuel. He attempted to land on Highway 89, but traffic was too heavy. He then made an emergency landing in a shrub-covered area, where the airplane lost its gear a…

At about 11:30 eastern time, a Cessna 172H was damaged during landing at the Kutztown Airport, but neither the flight instructor nor student pilot were injured. The student pilot said he had accumulated 40-50 hours over the past five years, with the last flight being about a year ago. The instructor said the student pilot made the first landing on the numbers then came around the pattern for another landing. During the second approach, the airplane was high, so the student selected full flaps. The descent rate became excessive and the CFI took over, adding power to go around, then aborted the go around and tried to land on the remaining runway. The airplane touched down on a grass strip…

At 21:16 mountain time, a Mooney M20K struck Mt. Ogden at the end of a 5-hour, 27-minute flight, killing the pilot. FAA records showed the pilot transmitted that he could see Ogden. Radar data indicates that the pilot was descending at approximately 500 feet per minute and flew straight into the east side of the mountain….

At 19:42 Pacific time, a Piper PA-34-200 crashed while executing the VOR missed approach procedure to Brackett Field Airport. The CFI and multi student were killed. IMC prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The approach controller handed off the flight to the tower controller, who asked the pilot if he had the airport in sight. The pilot reported the airport in sight but said he did not want to cancel IFR. The tower controller told the approach controller the pilot had the airport and wanted to cancel IFR. One minute later, the pilot reported the airport was not in sight. The pilot had passed the airport and was to the west, so the tower controller gave him vectors to return for anothe…

At about 15:10 Alaska time, a Piper PA-31T3 crashed shortly after a rejected landing at Nuiqsut Airport. The pilot and four passengers were killed and five passengers received serious injuries. Witnesses said the airplane touched down on runway 22 with the landing gear retracted. The fuselage-mounted belly cargo pod lightly scraped the runway for about 40 feet, but the airplane transitioned to a climb. As the airplane began climbing away from the runway, the landing gear was observed to extend. The airplane climbed to about 100 to 150 feet above the ground and began a descending left turn until it crashed about 300 yards south of the airport….