Aerostar

At approximately 13:30 mountain time, a Piper PA-60-602P crashed while landing after aborting its flight. The pilot was not injured. The pilot had just taken off from Rock Springs and was climbing out on the downwind leg and getting his IFR clearance when he heard a loud explosion from the vicinity of the right wing. He returned and landed on runway 9. As soon as the airplane touched down, it began veering left and right and finally departed the right side of the runway, collapsing the landing gear. Half of the tire and most of the tube were found at the point of touch down. Evidence was found indicating the tire came off the rim….

At approximately 1147 mountain time, a Piper 602P landed gear-up at Albuquerque International Airport after losing power on the left engine during final approach to runway 3. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The pilot said the airplane was on final in turbulence and a strong crosswind. The pilot and controller were discussing using a different runway when the left engine lost power. The pilot told the controller hed lost engine power and requested a go-around. He flew the airplane back around to the runway and determined he could hold the heading with the crosswind. The airplane was at a low altitude and the pilot waited to extend the gear to ensure hed make it to the runwa…

At about 0800 eastern time, a Ted Smith Aerostar crashed near Belle Glade, leaving the pilot with serious injuries. The pilot said he was aware of reported thunderstorms along his route of flight and near the departure airport. He said he stayed low to avoid clouds, but saw a hole in the clouds and climbed through. When he reached 13,000 feet, he noticed that he was very close to a storm, so he turned the airplane 180 degrees, but flew directly into a storm cell. The turbulence of the storm caused the airplane to go into an uncontrolled dive. He was able to level the wings and pull the nose up just before impact with the ground….