PiperWarrior

At 18:45 EDT, a Piper Warrior was substantially damaged after a loss of control during landing at the Zelienople Municipal Airport but the pilot was not injured. The pilot said the purpose of the flight was to practice some crosswind flying. The pilot said that when the airplane climbed above the trees at the departure end of runway 35, I realized I had made a mistake. In a written statement, the pilot reported that when he landed, but before the nose wheel touched down, a strong gust pushed the aircraft off of the right side of the runway onto a flat grassy section. The left wheel struck one of the runway lights which were off to the side of the runway. Butler County Airport, 10 miles…

At about 13:36 EDT, the pilot of a Piper Warrior ditched into Lake Erie at the end of a 3:51 cross-country flight. The pilot received minor injuries. The pilot had taken off from Green Bay, Wisc., where the engine starter had been repaired, to reposition the airplane to Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. The flight was uneventful until about 10 miles north of his destination, when he reported to the BKL air traffic control tower that the engine was cutting in and out. Two minutes later he declared an emergency, saying the engine had lost power. After ditching, the airplane remained afloat for several minutes and then sank. The pilot was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The pilot reported…

At 2155 central time, a Piper PA-28-161 suffered an inflight fire during a night cross-country flight. The pilot landed the airplane on Interstate 35 near Purcell without hitting anything, but all four occupants suffered minor injuries during the accident. The fire apparently started under and behind one of the passenger seats. The fire consumed the fuselage and cabin….

At 09:50 CDT, a Piper Warrior struck and seriously injured a ground crew member while taxiing at Clover Field Airport, Houston, Texas. Witnesses said the ground person began to run to the site of a previous accident site and, when he was crossing a taxiway, was struck by the left wing of the Piper….

At 12:05 EDT, a Piper PA-28-161 struck a parked truck while attempting an emergency landing on a highway north of Lake Wales. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said that the engine began running rough shortly after takeoff and he attempted to land on the highway, where he struck a parked truck. The engine was started at the site and ran at all power settings. The pilot stated that during the emergency he did not apply carburetor heat. Weather conditions were favorable for the formation of carburetor ice at the time of the flight….

At about 16:45 EDT, a Piper PA-28-161 Warrior crashed when the pilot aborted a takeoff from a cow pasture. No one was injured. The pilot had flown the rented plane from Orlando, Fla., earlier in the day and landed in the pasture after running out of gas. He got 10 gallons of avgas to put in the plane and helped the farmer remove a fence, at which time he tried to take off. He aborted the takeoff when it looked like he wouldnt make it, but hit trees at the end of the pasture….

At 12:25 EST, a Piper PA-28-161 dragged its left wingtip and cartwheeled while trying to avoid a helicopter during a touch-and-go landing at Dekalb Peachtree Airport. The solo student pilot was killed. Witnesses said a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter passed the Warrior on short final, made a low approach down runway 2L and stopped at or just beyond the departure end of the runway. The Warrior was cleared for a touch and go on runway 2L and, upon taking off, banked 90 degrees left in what was apparently an attempt to avoid the helicopter….

At about 08:41 EST, a Piper PA-28-151 lost power after takeoff and crashed during the ensuing forced landing. The flight instructor and two passengers were seriously injured. The flight was an introductory flight lesson for a prospective student and his mother. The flight instructor said the engine lost power when the airplane was about 150 to 200 feet above the ground. With no suitable landing areas beyond the end of the runway, the instructor elected to turn back toward the airport. After completing more than 90 degrees of turn, the right wing struck a light pole and the airplane cartwheeled. Initial examination of the engine failed to determine the cause of power loss….

At about 10:30 EDT, a flight instructor and student pilot sustained minor injuries when their Piper PA-28-161 crashed -mile short of the runway at the Horace Williams Airport. The pilot reported encountering severe gusting winds while on final approach to runway 27 to the extent that control about the airplanes longitudinal axis was lost. Examination of the wreckage path revealed the airplanes initial collision with the ground was on a heading of about 180 degrees. Local TV news subsequently reported that numerous trees and power lines were down as a result of winds that reached 50 to 60 miles an hour as a weather system traveled through the area at the time of the accident….

At about 21:45 eastern time, a Piper PA-28-161 was damaged when it struck approach lights while landing at Dayton/Wright Brothers Airport. The CFI and student pilot were not injured. The student was making his first night flight and, on final approach, the CFI noted the VASI was red over red. He heard the engine power begin to increase and assumed that the student was correcting to get back on glide path. The CFI realized the student was not adding enough power and was reaching for the throttle when he heard a bang. The airplane touched down short of the runway and came to rest in a grass area. The CFI said he was not aware there were approach lighting stanchions at the approach end of the…