Preliminary Reports

The following briefs were selected from the 170 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in May 2001. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Click here to view “Accident Totals, May.”

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May 01, The Woodlands, Texas
Mitsubishi MU-2B
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…

At 2019 mountain time, a Mooney M20C crashed during a steep descent about 16 miles north-northeast of Glenwood Springs. The pilot was killed. The flight was headed VFR from Kremmling, Colo., to Grand Junction. About a half-hour after takeoff, the airplane made a wide turn to the left of approximately 450 degrees, followed immediately by a tight turn to the right of approximately 360 degrees. Two radar antenna sites were used to track the airplane. The first site lost radar contact at 2019:19, when the target was at 13,500 feet msl and the second site lost radar contact at 2019:33, when the target was at 10,500 feet msl – a descent of 3,000 feet in 14 seconds. Weather conditions did not allow…

At approximately 1855 central time, a Piper PA-28RT-201T crashed while maneuvering near Marianna. The pilot and his passenger were killed. The pilot called for a weather briefing for a flight from Little Rock to Tunica, Miss., and was advised of low ceilings and marginal VFR along the route of flight. The pilot responded, Ill be heading to Tunica VFR. Guess Ill be scudding it, it looks like. The airplane was found to have hit a 60-foot tree about 40 feet up, at an elevation of less than 300 feet msl….

At about 1553 Alaska time, a Piper PA-31-350 was damaged during an inadvertent wheels-up landing at Fairbanks International Airport. The pilot and eight passengers aboard the Part 135 flight were not injured. The pilot said that, as he entered the pattern, he was told by the tower to cross over and enter right traffic for runway 1. The tower then told him he would have to extend downwind because of traffic. The pilot said he decided not to put the landing gear down at the usual point because of the request to extend his pattern. He said as he started to extend his pattern, the tower asked him to expedite a base turn and keep it tight. The pilot said he failed to complete his checklist on t…

At about 1935 eastern time, a Cessna 172P crashed into the ocean while on approach to Ocean City Municipal Airport. Two passengers died and the pilot and a third passenger were not recovered. Another pilot said he was approaching the airport at the same time as the accident airplane. The accident pilot called Unicom looking for a taxi, but the witness pilot told him the airport closed at sunset and hed have to get a taxi when he landed. The witness pilot saw the accident pilot make the turn to downwind for runway 20 and, as he neared the departure end of runway 14, the airplane went from horizontal flight to vertical. The witness pilot said it was a clear but dark night….

At about 1240 eastern time, a Cirrus SR-20 crashed near Lexington, but the pilot and pilot-rated passenger were not injured. The pilot planned to perform some practice instrument approaches in actual instrument conditions. The passenger was a friend of the pilot and also held a private pilot certificate. Both held instrument ratings. The pilot said he set the autopilot to the heading bug and was loading an approach into the airplanes GPS when he noticed the turn coordinator pegged to the left with no flag and the airplane losing altitude. He disengaged the autopilot and attempted to stabilize the airplane. The airplane was descending rapidly at a high airspeed. When it broke out of the clou…

At 1100 Pacific time, a Cessna 172M porpoised on landing at Catalina Island Airport, damaging the firewall. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The pilot said the approach was normal. The flap position indicator ceased to function during the flight and the pilot estimated that he used 20 degrees of flaps for the approach and landing. He said that once he had the runway made, he reduced the throttle to idle and flared. The engine continued to produce power, running at 1,200 to 1,600 rpm and the airplane bounced several times as he tried to get it to settle on the runway. Finally, he pulled the mixture to kill the engine. The engine had accumulated only 17 hours of operation….

At 1631 mountain time, a Cessna 340 crashed on final approach to Centennial Airport, killing the pilot and three passengers. The tower controller at Centennial Airport said the pilot had been cleared to land on runway 35R. About 90 seconds later, the pilot reported he had lost an engine. Radar data indicates the airplane made a left 180-degree turn to the south and then radar contact was lost….

At about 0730 mountain time, a Piper PA-18 struck terrain after being damaged by gunfire near Fort Peck. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The pilot was conducting a coyote control flight over private rangeland. At about 40 feet agl, the passenger inadvertently discharged a semiautomatic 12-gauge shotgun three to four times, striking the right wing and aileron assembly. The airplane entered a descending turn to the right and subsequently impacted terrain in a nose-low attitude….

At about 1500 eastern time, a Piper J4A lost engine power on initial climb from Cincinnati Municipal-Lunken Field and crashed. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said the engine stopped as he climbed through 500 feet. He attempted to return to the runway, but the landing gear struck the edge of the runway, the left gear collapsed, and the airplane flipped over. This was the first flight after the annual inspection, which included replacing the carburetor and changing the float. Post-accident examination revealed that the carburetor float was out of adjustment….