Preliminary Reports

At 15:13 central time, a Mooney M20M crashed about a mile north of Evansville Regional Airport as the pilot was attempting to return to the airport after takeoff. The pilot and passenger were killed. The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit and then said there was a fire onboard at an unspecified location. The flight, planned to be an IFR flight to Indianapolis, had taken off only a minute earlier….

At about 17:00 mountain time, a Cessna 172 crashed into terrain while in cruise flight near Lindsay. The pilot, who was seriously injured, had opened a VFR flight plan about 35 minutes earlier. The aircraft was in cruise flight at 300 feet agl when the pilot was distracted by tuning a radio….

At 08:30 central time, a Cirrus SR-20 lost engine power and was damaged while landing in a field near St. Bonifacius. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The flight was en route from Minneapolis to Rapid City, S.D. Examination of the engine revealed three punctures in the top of the crankcase at cylinders number 1, 2 and 4. A 2-inch diameter piece of the crankcase rested on top of the engine. The oil drain plug was absent. The threads at the oil drain port showed no damage or evidence of safety wiring. There was no evidence of oil in the engine….

At 07:55 eastern time, a Beech 200 crashed into the instrument approach light system for runway 23L while landing at the Indianapolis International Airport. The pilot and eight passengers reported no injuries. The pilot said the weather was IMC with heavy rain and 1 miles visibility. The approach lights were visible at the outer marker. The flight encountered heavy chop about 300 yards from the end of the runway. A pilot-rated passenger said the runway was in sight when the rain got so heavy that forward visibility was negligible….

At 13:05 central time, a Cessna 150G crashed after takeoff from a private strip near Sargent, killing the pilot. The flight was originating at the time, destined for Baycity, Texas. A witness said the pilot had tried to start the airplane a week earlier, but the engine ran very roughly. On the day of the accident, the owner of the airstrip helped the pilot pull the airplane out of mud in which it had become stuck. It was raining heavily at the time, and the pilot did not perform a preflight inspection or runup. The airplane took off and climbed to about 100 feet agl when it stalled and spun to the ground. Witnesses said the weather conditions at the time were a thunderstorm. Initial invest…

At 13:15 central time, a Beech 95-B55 crashed near Alvarado after the pilot lost control. The pilot and flight instructor were killed. The pilot was the owner of the flight school that operated the airplane, and the flight instructor was the chief pilot. The pilot, who was already multi rated, was working on proficiency. A witness reported hearing the airplanes engine sounds change, then saw the airplane in what appeared to be a flat spin at about 1,500 feet agl. The engines revved again, but the airplanes attitude did not change. The airplane landed in a flat attitude with no ground scars except those beneath it. The landing gear was extended and the flaps were in an approach position….

At 14:35 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T struck rocks while making a forced landing onto the shoreline at Petoskey after apparently running out of fuel. IMC prevailed. The pilot and one passenger suffered minor injuries, while five other passengers were uninjured. The pilot had flown to Mackinac Island the previous evening and the pilot calculated he had enough fuel to get from Mackinac Island to Pellston, Mich. (Fuel is unavailable at Mackinac Island.) He had about 12 gallons in each tank at takeoff and Pellston was about 10 minutes away. The pilot said the vectors he was given resulted in a 90-degree intercept of the final approach course and he flew through the localizer. The controller…

At 14:40 eastern time, a Cessna 210M broke up in flight near Pittsfield, killing both people aboard. The airplane was cruising at 11,000 feet on an IFR flight plan when it began making several turns left and right, eventually heading in the opposite direction. The airplane then lost 4,000 feet in 24 seconds, at which point transponder returns were lost. Primary returns continued for another 90 seconds. Several witnesses reported hearing a crack and seeing the airplane spiraling down under high power with much of its left wing missing. One Airmet had been issued for occasional moderate turbulence below 10,000 feet and another one had been issued for occasional moderate rime or mixed icing. Th…

At approximately 16:15 mountain time, a Cessna 337B struck a power line and crashed in St. George. The pilot was killed. The ferry flight originated in Mesquite, Nev., approximately 20 minutes earlier. The interior of the airplane, including avionics and some instruments, had been removed with refurbishing scheduled at a later date. The fuel selector panel and handles were also removed. The pilot flew the airplane to Mesquite in February 2001, where it had been repainted. He was ferrying the airplane back to St. George when the accident occurred. Prior to takeoff, he requested that 15 gallons of fuel be added to each side. The airplane was next seen on a left base leg for runway 34, but th…

At 13:22 central time, a Beech C90 made a forced landing in a residential area after losing engine power while on approach to Dallas Love Airport. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane apparently left Dallas in the morning with four passengers. Line personnel in Taos, N.M., reported the airplane landed there and two people deplaned, leaving the airplane empty except for the pilot. The pilot reported that as he turned on the base leg to runway 13L the right engine began to surge. He retracted the gear and turned on the boost pumps, but the airplane was slowing to Vmc, so he reduced power to the left engine and made the forced landing….