PiperPacer

At 1200 Eastern time, the airplane collided with the ground during a forced landing. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplane received substantial structural damage. The private pilot and three passengers reported no injuries. The pilot later stated he was in cruise flight at 3000 feet when he noted an airframe vibration. After adjusting the engine controls, the airplane would not climb, and started a descent. The pilot selected the nearest airport on his GPS and proceeded toward it to make a precautionary landing. After two aborted attempts to land, the pilot increased power to gain altitude, and leaned the mixture, resulting in an “alarming” decrease in airspeed.

The airplane was substantially damaged at about 0246 Eastern time after making a forced landing in a wooded residential area shortly after takeoff. The private pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot later reported retracting the landing gear and noticing the manifold pressure was “down.” He then tried to increase the manifold pressure with no response. The airplane hit trees and came to rest in a residential area, facing in the opposite direction of its original travel.

At about 1852 Eastern time, the airplane went off the right side of the runway during the landing rollout. The airplane received substantial damage. Visual conditions prevailed. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The pilot later stated he made two visual approaches and go-arounds due to the airplane being too high. On the third approach, the airplane bounced and touched down on the runway 1300 feet past the landing threshold. He aligned the airplane with the centerline of the runway and applied upward pressure on the manual brake to slow the airplane. After reapplying brake pressure without response, the pilot observed the brake cable had separated and began S-turning the airplane in an attempt to stop.

The airplane, operating as a banner tow flight, had an in-flight collision with a separated banner from another Piper PA-18-150 at 0900 Eastern time. Visual conditions prevailed; the commercial pilot reported minor injuries. The pilot later stated he was at 500 feet, northeast-bound when he observed a banner floating directly ahead and attempted to dive beneath it. The banner became entangled with the propeller and the engine stopped. He turned the airplane towards the beach, dropped his banner, made a mayday call, and initiated a forced landing near the surf line. The airplane collided with the water and nosed over inverted.

The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard. The nose gear collapsed and the propeller struck the runway. The airplane then swerved off the runway, stopping 50 feet later. The pilot stated that the airplane and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.

The solo student pilot reported a moderate crosswind when he was attempting to land so he executed a go-around. During the go-around, he raised the flaps. He reported that taking out two notches of flaps caused the airplane to lose too much altitude and “the plane stalled as I pulled back on the yoke.” The airplane struck several trees and impacted the ground. He reported that there were no mechanical difficulties with the airplane.

During a landing to Runway 17, with winds from 200 degrees at five knots, gusting to 14 knots, the main landing gear settled to the runway and forward pressure was applied to the control to initiate a wheel landing. Just before the tail wheel settled, the airplane began drifting to the right. Then, it swerved to the left, “triggered by a crosswind gust, use of brakes or clumsy footwork on the rudder that retarded the left wheel.” The airplane skidded to the left, which the pilot was unable to correct with right full rudder and aileron control.

The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain at 0930 Eastern time during a forced landing. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot thought that the rate of climb was “sluggish,” even though engine instruments presented normal indications. The pilot initiated a turn to the right, since the terrain ahead contained many houses. Airplane performance continued to deteriorate. The pilot attempted to avoid obstacles, such as trees and power lines, but eventually impacted trees and terrain.

The pilot subsequently reported he took off with 14 gallons of fuel aboard. The flight from Bull Frog Basin Airport, Utah, to Winslow, Ariz., should have taken 1 hour 40 minutes, with fuel consumption of 5.3 gallons per hour. The pilot noticed that fuel was disappearing quickly and assumed there was a headwind. After 1 hour 40 minutes (1.7 hours), the airplane ran out of fuel 57 statute miles north of Winslow, and landed in the desert.

The airplane was destroyed when it collided with mountainous terrain at 0533 Eastern time. The private pilot and passenger were killed. Visual conditions prevailed at the closest weather reporting station. Preliminary radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that at 0520, the target was on a westbound track at 9200 feet. For the next 10 minutes, it continued, descending to 8300 feet.