Preliminary Reports

At 17:45 mountain time, a Mooney M20K ran off the end of the runway while landing at Skypark Airport. The four occupants were not injured. The pilot said he experienced total electrical failure shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport for a no-flap landing on runway 16. The airplane overran the 4,700-foot runway and struck a ditch….

At 14:20 mountain time, an American Eurocopters AS350-B2 crashed into mountainous terrain during a sightseeing flight. The pilot and five passengers were killed and one passenger suffered serious injuries. The flight had toured the Grand Canyon and was en route to its base in Las Vegas when the accident occurred. The surviving passenger said the helicopter got quiet and fell from the sky. The wreckage indicated the helicopter had descended approximately straight down to impact….

At 14:20 central time, a Bell 206B struck trees and terrain near Mineral Wells, killing the pilot. The helicopter was owned and operated by S-TEC Corp. of Mineral Wells and was being used to develop a helicopter autopilot system. The operator said the autopilot contained a rotary and a linear servo, but one of the servos had been removed and reinstalled during the previous 30 days, during which time the pilot had not flown the helicopter….

At approximately 12:41 central time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 crashed after an uncontrolled descent near The Woodlands, killing the pilot and passenger. VMC prevailed but scattered thunderstorms were reported in the vicinity of the departure airport. Witnesses reported hearing an engine surging noise and observed the airplane in a flat spin until it struck the ground in a near-vertical attitude. Witnesses said the airplane appeared to be missing part of one wing as it descended and the right wing fuel tip tank has not been located….

At about 18:58 Pacific time, a Cessna 172N descended into Santa Monica Bay. One passenger was killed. The pilot and another passenger were missing and presumed dead. The pilot told Santa Monica Tower that he intended to fly up and down the shoreline. Radar data showed the airplane cruising about a half-mile offshore at about 1,000 feet. The airplane then turned perpendicular to the shoreline and descended in a right turn until the radar track was lost. Another pilot who was flying in the vicinity reported that a solid overcast marine layer existed at the time. The cloud bases were about 1,100 feet msl, and the top of the cloud layer was about 1,700 feet msl. It was a dark night, and no moo…

At 10:30 eastern time, a Cessna 182P flipped over during a crosswind landing on the grass strip at Chalet Suzanne. The four occupants suffered minor injuries. The pilot said he was landing on runway 36 when he experienced a strong crosswind, and the airplane porpoised halfway down the runway. The nose wheel struck the ground and the airplane flipped inverted….

At 08:15 central time, a Beech F35 operated by Basler Turbo Conversions crashed during an approach to runway 36 at Wittman Regional Airport. The pilot was killed. The airplane was completing a 30-minute maintenance test flight….

At about 19:00 mountain time, a Gulfstream III on a Part 135 flight crashed while on approach for landing into Aspen, Colo. All 18 aboard the airplane were killed. Although media reports have detailed some of the conditions surrounding the accident, the NTSB preliminary report gives no pertinent information on the accident….

At about 15:00 eastern time, a Piper PA-24-250 crashed near Pittsview. The pilot was not injured and a passenger reported minor injuries. The flight had departed Lakeland, Fla., for Auburn, Ala., more than four hours before the crash. The pilot told investigators he exhausted his fuel and had to land in a vacant field….

At about 15:10 eastern time, a Beech 36 was damaged during takeoff at Biddeford Municipal Airport. The pilot, also a flight instructor, sustained minor injuries. Post-accident examination revealed the control column lock had not been removed from the control column….