Preliminary Reports

At approximately 18:00 mountain time, a Cessna A185F departed McCall, Idaho, for a planned 45-minute flight to Cottonwood. The airplane was reported missing by a family member, and the airplanes wreckage was located the following day approximately 3 miles south-southwest of Lucile. The pilot was killed. The aircraft crashed on the west slope of the river canyon where it makes a 90-degree right turn, from north to east. A bowl is located adjacent to this 90-degree turn, generally to the north and west of the turn. No pre-accident anomalies were found. A thin layer of clouds was reported at the time at 5,500 feet, and the accident site was at 2,700 feet. There was no moon at the time of the a…

At 10:00 central time, a Cessna 170A struck a Lake LA-4 while landing at Giddings-Lee County Airport. No one was injured. The Cessna was landing and touched down 800 feet along the 3,999-foot runway and bounced several times. It drifted left of the centerline and the pilot advanced the throttle to go around when the Cessna struck the Lake and began to cartwheel. The Cessna sliced a wing off the Lake and then crashed into a fuel pump….

At 17:40 central time, a Piper PA-28-140 struck a fence at a private airstrip during the forced landing after losing engine power near Wilton. The three occupants reported minor injuries. The airplane was one of a flight of four flying from Shreveport, La., to the airstrip. A witness said the airplane was southeast of the airport when the engine lost power. The pilot landed the airplane approximately three-quarters of the way down the runway, then the airplane became airborne again and struck a fence on the north side of the airport….

At approximately 20:00 central time, a Taylorcraft F-19 struck a tree while in cruise flight nine miles west of Backus. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The flight originated in Park Rapids, Minn., about 20 minutes earlier and was en route to Pine River. The weather was reported as 400 feet overcast with three miles visibility, mist, temperature 43, dew point 42. The pilot was not instrument-rated….

At 11:18 eastern time, a Cessna 310Q crashed into a residential area six minutes after takeoff from Smith Reynolds Airport, killing the pilot. Controllers said the pilot notified them that he was experiencing oscillations in the airplanes controls. Then the pilot said he had the problem under control and was continuing onto his destination. Shortly after that the pilot radioed that he was experiencing a lot of down pressure on yoke. Shortly after that the airplane crashed. The airplane crashed 55 degrees left-wing low and 60 degrees nose-down….

At about 14:23 mountain time, a Cessna 172M struck an airport sign during takeoff from Love Field. The flight instructor and his student flew in the vicinity of the airport and evaluated the damage to the airplanes right main landing gear. At 14:40, the CFI landed back at the airport and the right main landing gear collapsed during rollout. The CFI said they were working on crosswind takeoffs and landings and selected runway 21R when the winds were from 120 at 11 knots….

At approximately 14:45 mountain time, an Agusta A119 helicopter crashed during landing at the Mackay-Dee Hospital helipad. All three occupants were slightly injured. The pilot said the approach was a little high and he lowered collective control. Rotor rpm and N2 decayed to 96%, then dropped to 80% and did not recover. A hard landing ensued and the helicopter rolled over on its left side. The helicopter, one of three in operation, had approximately 39 hours time-in-service. Previous maintenance discrepancies included several reports of rotor rpm and N2 decay of approximately 4% whenever collective was lowered, but all of these discrepancies occurred during ground tests….

At about 15:13 Pacific time, a Cessna P210N descended into mountainous terrain in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, about seven miles north of Mt. Charleston. The pilot was killed. The airplane was cruising at 16,000 feet when the pilot requested a descent to 15,000 feet because of downdrafts. In less than three minutes the airplane had lost more than 7,000 feet and ground speed had dropped from 150 knots to 60 knots. The airplane wreckage was found at about 7,000 feet msl at the same location as the last radar return. All of the wreckage was confined within a 30-foot radius of the fuselage….

At approximately 21:30 Pacific time, a Piper PA-28R-200 on short final for runway 16 encountered rotor wash from a helicopter operating near runway 16 at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field. No one was injured. The airplane experienced a roll, yaw, and sink rate excursion upon encountering the rotor wash. The crew applied corrective flight control inputs in an attempt to counter this excursion, but the airplane touched down in grass adjacent to the paved runway surface. The flight crew, which included a flight instructor and a private pilot receiving flight instruction for his FAA commercial pilot practical test, continued the landing rollout in the grass, but the airplanes nose gear collapsed…

At about 18:30 Pacific time, a Cessna 182S crashed about 2 miles from Little River Airport, killing the pilot. The flight left Palo Alto at about 17:00, about the same time a fog layer moved into Little River. Within an hour, the fog layer was reported to be several hundred feet thick, with visibility 1 mile and the sky 80 percent dark. A witness said he heard an airplane approach about 17:45, with no unusual sounds. About 10 minutes later he heard the engine throttle back, so he got his handheld radio and contacted the pilot. The pilot asked conditions at the airport. The pilot reported he saw the airport as he passed over it but lost sight as he flew the traffic pattern. The witness said…