PiperComanche

At approximately 12:40 Pacific time, a Piper PA-24 lost engine power in flight and was substantially damaged when the pilot made an intentional gear-up landing in a field. The pilot and passenger where not injured. The pilot said the airplane was in cruise flight when he noticed the exhaust gas temperature had decreased. He did not sense any drop in rpm and he did not check to see what the manifold pressure was. He applied carburetor heat for a couple of seconds but saw no indication that there was any ice accumulation. Less than a minute later the engine quit. The aircraft descended through the overcast and the pilot executed a forced landing in an open field located in densely forested ter…

At about 13:20 eastern time, a Piper PA-24-250 struck mountains near Paris, killing the pilot. IMC prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilots son said the airplane was being repositioned for an annual inspection. Examination of the wreckage found it was being operated on a mixture of auto gas and avgas. The seat belts were found unbuckled. An annual inspection had been performed at the departure airport, but the pilot was reportedly upset by the discrepancies noted. The mechanic noted in the logbooks that the airplane was unairworthy. The pilot did not obtain a ferry permit to reposition the airplane. The pilot reported more than 2,000 flight hours on his last medical application, b…

At approximately 15:30 mountain time, a Piper PA-24-250 struck the runway during initial climb from Telluride Regional Airport. The three occupants were not injured. The pilot said he retracted the landing gear at about 50 feet above the ground and a gust of wind struck the airplane and forced it down onto the runway….

At about 00:35 eastern time, a Piper PA-24-250 crashed three minutes after takeoff from Gainesville Regional Airport, killing the pilot and passenger. A refueler at the airport said the two occupants bought 30 gallons of fuel and told him they had just flown down from Pennsylvania. They joked about being tired and dragging. They also said they were concerned about continuing on but were too close to their destination to stay in Gainesville. The refueler also said ceilings were low at the time and there was light rain….

At about 1500 Pacific time, a Piper PA-24 being hand-propped started and crashed into a fence and trees at Scappoose Industrial Airpark. The passenger was killed and the pilot was not on board at the time. The pilot said he fueled the airplane and then could not start it. He moved it away from the fuel pump, set the parking brake, advanced the throttle about -inch and turned on the mags. The passenger was in the right front seat when the pilot pulled the prop through and the engine started immediately. As he started to walk around the wing, the power advanced to what sounded like full power. The airplane knocked down the pilot and careened across the airport….

At about 19:30 mountain time, a Piper PA-24-250 suffered fuel exhaustion while on final approach to runway 21R at Love Field and crashed about 450 feet short of the runway. The two occupants, both of whom were flight instructors, suffered minor injuries. The engine failed on approach with the fuel selector was positioned to the right auxiliary fuel tank and the pilot restored power seconds before impact by switching to a main fuel tank. Investigators found about 10 gallons in the left aux fuel tank, 25 gallons in the left main tank and 15 gallons in the right main tank. The right aux tank was completely dry….

At 1900 mountain time, a Piper PA-24-250 veered off the runway and struck obstacles while landing at the Prescott Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot flew for TWA until he lost his medical in 1972. He recently reacquired his medical and reported 15 hours since returning to flying. He said he had just recently bought the airplane….