Preliminary Reports

At about 19:10 Alaska time, a Cessna 207A was damaged during an emergency landing at the Deadhorse Airport, but the pilot was not injured. The pilot said he was in cruise flight about 10 minutes after departure when he noted a light sheen of oil on the windshield. He turned around but could not see through the windshield by the time he was about two miles from the airport. While the airplane was on approach to runway 4 the propeller rpm increased for about 20 seconds, then the propeller departed the airplane. The pilot glided to a landing at the airport. The propeller and engine crankshaft flange were located and sent to the NTSB metallurgical laboratory for examination. The airplane was equ…

At approximately 21:45 mountain time, a Cessna 172K crashed when it struck the water during takeoff from a beach near Orchard. The pilot was not injured. The flight originated at Greeley, Colo., at approximately 18:30. The pilot said extensive maintenance had been performed on the airplane and on two different occasions he had made off-airport precautionary landings due to smoke in the cockpit. In the first incident, wiring inside the transponder had burned. In the second incident, unsecured wires had chafed against a bus bar and short-circuited. On the accident flight, the pilot saw smoke coming from the cowling and a light smoke entered the cockpit. He elected to make a precautionary landi…

At 19:30 eastern time, a Piper PA-31-325 ran off the end of runway 14 at Clark County Airport and went down a ravine. The pilot reported minor injuries. The pilot said he landed long on the 3,899-foot runway and couldnt stop the airplane. The pilot blamed a severe tailwind component. The 18:56 weather observation at the Louisville International Airport, 11 miles south of the accident site, showed wind 220 degrees at 14 knots….

At about 21:58 eastern time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-26A crashed short of the runway while making an ILS approach into Vineyard Haven Airport. The pilot and three passengers were killed. The flight had departed Trenton, N.J., without a flight plan and weather conditions deteriorated en route. The pilot then contacted Cape Approach as he neared Edgartown and asked for an ILS approach. Night IMC prevailed. He was cleared for the approach, and the tower controller later issued a low altitude warning to the pilot. He acknowledged the warning and said he would climb. The flight was cleared to land and the controller asked how long hed be staying. The pilot responded theyd be staying overnight. No fu…

At about 06:30 central time, a Piper PA-22-150 crashed and burned while approaching to land on runway 9 at Blickhan Landing Area Airport. The student pilot and his passenger were killed. The flight originated from the pilots private airstrip near LaPlata, Mo, at an unknown time. Witnesses reported fog in the area on the morning of the crash. The temperature was 70 and the dewpoint 68. The wreckage was located about 500 feet from the runway threshold. The aircraft wreckage was confined to an area about 40 feet in diameter. No pre-existing mechanical problem could be determined….

At 09:15 eastern time, a Beech crashed on the runway shortly after liftoff from runway 36 at Vandenberg Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot said the engine quit shortly after takeoff and he tried to put the airplane down on the remaining runway. A witness said the airplane took off in a nose high attitude, climbed to about 75 feet and stalled back onto the runway, collapsing the right main and nose landing gear….

At about 05:30 eastern time, a Cessna 310Q operating as a Part 135 cargo flight crashed in Chesterfield. The flight was destined for Albany, N.Y., and the pilot reported icing conditions and problems with one engine as he flew at 8,000 feet in the vicinity of Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene. The pilot said he was unable to maintain altitude and requested vectors to the nearest airport. He was given the ILS Runway 02 approach to Dillant-Hopkins and initially flew the vectors, but later reported he was not able to reach the airport. The airplane struck a hill approximately 7 miles southwest of EEN. Although the pilot initially survived the accident, he later died of his injuries. The air filt…

At 18:55 central time, a Cessna 172 crashed following a go-around attempt at Buffalo Municipal Airport. The student pilot and two passengers on board reported no injuries. The student pilot said that he was flying a solo cross-country flight from Lebanon, Mo., to Stockton, Mo., and back to Lebanon. On arrival over Stockton, the pilot discovered the airport was closed. On the return to Lebanon, one of the passengers asked the pilot to make a momentary stop at the closest airport. The pilot chose the Buffalo Municipal Airport. On his landing attempt at Buffalo, the pilot elected to execute a go around. A passenger on board said, The buzzer went off and the airplane fell into the ground….

At about 04:55 Atlantic time, a Cessna 402C on a Part 135 mail flight apparently crashed into the Caribbean Sea near Vieques. The wreckage was not recovered and the pilot is presumed dead. The flight was en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and was cruising at 7,000 feet. At about 04:53, the pilot requested a lower altitude and was cleared to 2,000 feet. The pilot acknowledged the clearance and no further transmissions were received from the pilot. Radar showed the aircraft began its descent, then a high-pitched tone was heard on the communications radio frequency. In the next 16 seconds, radar returns show the plane descending from 5,500 feet to 1,200 feet…

At 19:20 central time, a Cessna 172M was destroyed during a forced landing near Sparta. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The flight was en route from Schaumburg, Ill., to Black River Falls. There was no fuel present in the left fuel tank of the airplane. The fuel selector was positioned on the left fuel tank….