April 2, 2005, Marion, Ohio
Cessna 182N Skylane
At 1630 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a precautionary landing at the Marion Municipal Airport (MNN) following an encounter with in-flight icing. The Private pilot and three passengers aboard were not injured. Instrument conditions prevailed for the flight, which departed Morgantown, W.V., with an intended destination of Lambertville, Mich. Shortly after crossing into Ohio, the pilot elected to divert and was directed to MNN for the GPS Runway 24 approach. While on final approach to Runway 24 and at approximately 80 to 100 feet agl, the airplane began descending at a rate that could not be arrested by the pilot. The airplane impacted the ground about 250 feet short of the runway in a wings-level attitude, the nosewheel dug into the ground and the airplane flipped over, coming to rest inverted.
April 3, 2005, Fort Collins, Colo.
Beech E55 Baron
The airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight during a go-around/balked landing at about 1450 Mountain time and impacted a parking lot and industrial building. Visual conditions prevailed. The Private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. Witnesses said they heard an engine sputtering or backfiring as the airplane passed overhead. On final approach, the airplane was too high and too fast. One witness said one of the propellers was windmilling; another said the left propeller was not turning. At some point past midfield, the pilot applied power as if to go around. The airplane rolled steeply to the left, descended, crashed into a parking lot and exploded.
April 3, 2005, Stephenville, Texas
Cessna 172L Skyhawk
At about 1430 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage following a hard landing. The Private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, which originated near McKinney, Texas. The pilot later reported being a little high and fast on final and was making throttle and pitch corrections. She was pulling back slightly on the yoke when the rear wheels touched down, but the airplane porpoised and came off the ground. The pilot then elected to abort the landing, added full power, continued around the traffic pattern, landed successfully and taxied the airplane to parking. A subsequent inspection revealed structural damage to the firewall.
April 4, 2005, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Cessna 421B Golden Eagle
The airplane was substantially damaged when its left main landing gear retracted on landing. The Airline Transport pilot and the two medical crewmembers aboard the aeromedical flight were uninjured. The pilot subsequently reported an unsafe gear indication after the last takeoff; he recycled the landing gear two or three times until the gear appeared to be secured. He then noticed that the airspeed was too low for the airplanes indicated flight configuration. The pilot suspected a landing gear malfunction and returned to his departure point. He then made a low approach to the runway and was told by his maintenance personnel that the left gear was still extended. The pilot cycled the gear down and observed that the landing gear lights were illuminated, indicating that the gear was down and locked. The pilot made a soft field landing onto Runway 32. The pilot let the airplane roll to the end of the runway, and started to turn to the left, when the left main gear retracted. The airplanes left wing came to rest on the runway.
April 5, 2005, Green Creek, N.J.
Piper PA-28R-201 Arrow
At 2203 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it collided with trees and terrain while attempting to land at the Cape May County Airport (WWD) in Wildwood, N.J. The two Private pilots aboard were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the night practice instrument flight. At about 2200, the owner of a campground in Green Creek heard an airplane wind up, and then a crunching sound. All major airframe components were accounted for at the wreckage site, which was two nautical miles from WWD. At 2155, the weather reported at WWD included clear skies, 10 miles visibility and wind from 190 degrees at four knots. The temperature was 48 degrees, and the dewpoint was 37 degrees. The altimeter setting was 30.19 inches of mercury. On the night of the accident, 13 percent of the moons visible disk was illuminated, and moonset was at 1600. At the time of the accident, the moon was below the horizon.
April 7, 2005, Broomfield, Colo.
Piper PA-32RT-300
The airplane was destroyed by a postimpact fire following a loss of control during landing on Runway 29R at the Jefferson County Regional Airport (BJC) in Broomfield, Colo. The accident occurred at 1226 Mountain time; the Airline Transport pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. A review of an airport surveillance video depicted the airplane impacting the runway in a left-wing-low attitude. The left main landing gear collapsed followed by the nose and right main landing gears. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, slid sideways on its belly and impacted a runway/taxiway sign. At 1225, BJCs ASOS reported the wind from 140 degrees at seven knots.
April 7, 2005, Tranquility, Calif.
Cessna T210L Turbo Centurion
At 0903 Pacific time, the airplane broke up in flight and impacted terrain. The Private pilot and the two passengers aboard were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. Visual conditions prevailed. The flight originated from the Santa Rosa Airport in California at about 0800, with an intended destination of Scottsdale, Ariz. Preliminary radar data indicates the airplane was cruising at 13,400 feet and traveling in a southeasterly direction when it turned abruptly to the right. The last radar position was recorded at 0902, at an altitude of 12,400 feet msl. The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, engine, vertical stabilizer, right horizontal stabilizer and inboard section of the left wing. The right wing was located about 1/3 mile away to the southeast. Other airframe components, including the outboard left wing and elements of the empennages fixed and movable controls, were located further to the southeast.Weather in the vicinity of the accident site included a cold front extending south-southwestward through Nevada and central and southern California. The frontal system consisted of large bands of rain and rain showers.
April 08, 2005, Oak Harbor, Wash.
Stinson 10-A
The airplane collided with trees and terrain at about 1600 Pacific time and was substantially damaged by impact and a post-crash fire. The Private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The aircraft departed from the pilots private airstrip at an unknown time. The airstrip was located within one-quarter of a mile northwest of the accident site. Witnesses near the accident site reported that the aircraft was seen traveling in an easterly direction, very low and near the tree line just before the collision. The witnesses reported that the engine was running, but seemed like it was strained or not at full power.
April 09, 2005, Seligman, Ariz.
Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche
At 1245 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a gear-up landing. The Private pilot and the single passenger were uninjured; a combination of visual and instrument conditions prevailed. According to the pilot, weather conditions began to deteriorate rapidly as the flight approached Prescott, Ariz. The pilot requested and received an IFR clearance to Seligman and, as he was configuring the airplane for landing, the landing gear would not extend. He recycled the gear approximately four times but he did not get a green light indicating that the airplanes landing gear was down and locked. The pilot attempted to extend the gear by following the emergency procedures as described in the POH, but the emergency extension gear handlewould not move forward. Due to the poor weather conditions, the pilot stopped troubleshooting the system and decided to land the airplane with the landing gear retracted. As the airplane skidded to a stop, the outboard edge of the left wing impacted a runway light and ribs in the fuselage structure of the airplane were damaged.
April 10, 2005, Jefferson, Texas
Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow
The airplane was destroyed when it impacted water following an in-flight collision with a power line while maneuvering near Jefferson, Texas. The Private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured in the accident, which occurred at approximately 1145 Central time. Visual conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated from the Shreveport (La.) Regional Airport. One witness told the NTSB he heard the sound of a low flying airplane and observed the airplane lift up to avoid hitting the bridge. After passing over the bridge, the airplane started a turn to the right as one of the wings clipped the power line. Examination of the accident site revealed that the top static line oriented on an east-west heading, was sheared approximately mid-span across a 200-yard section of water. Debris from the airplane was spread throughout a 200 foot circumference from the main wreckage. Weather reported approximately 30 nm southwest of the accident site included visibility of 10 sm, few clouds at 3700 feet and a broken cloud layer at 4500 feet.
April 11, 2005, Warren, Penn.
Cessna 177 Cardinal
At 1606 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged while landing at the Warren Airpark in Warren, Penn. The Private pilot received serious injuries and the passenger was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the personal flight that departed Butler, Penn., about 45 minutes earlier. According to a witness, the airplane touched down on Runway 6, then departed it to the right. The airplane then disappeared from his view, but he heard its engine RPM increase prior to the airplane impacting trees. A weather observation taken about 13 minutes prior to the accident 26 miles to the southeast included wind from 040 degrees at 11 knots with gusts to 18 knots.
April 13, 2005, South Bay, Fla.
Beech/Raytheon A36 Bonanza
The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and subsequent post crash fire following an in-flight collision with terrain approximately seven miles southwest of South Bay, Fla., at about 2015 Eastern time. The Private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed; the flight originated from Tampa, Fla., about one hour prior to the accident with an intended destination of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Witnesses reported the pilot had flown the airplane to Tampa earlier in the day to have it serviced and was returning home when the accident occurred. The airplanes estimated total time since new was approximately 25 hours.
April 14, 2005, Olney, Texas
Cessna 172N Skyhawk
At approximately 1230 Central time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a reported loss of engine power while maneuvering near Olney, Texas. The Commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed for the pipeline patrol mission. The pilot later reported he noticed that the throttle had backed out and pushed it full forward. As the airspeed decayed, he applied carburetor heat and noticed the engine wasnt running rough. The pilot pushed the carburetor heat back in, and noted that the engine was still losing power. At an altitude of approximately 200 feet above ground level, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a nearby field. During the landing roll, the nose gear dug into terrain and the airplane nosed over.The airplane came to rest inverted within an open field; fuel was observed leaking from both fuel caps and was observed within both fuel tanks.
April 15, 2005, Groveland, Fla.
Piper PA-28-161 Warrior
The airplane collided with trees while the pilot was returning to land after encountering a rough running engine shortly after takeoff from the Seminole Lake Gliderport at about 1440 Eastern time. Visual conditions prevailed for maintenance ferry flight Kissimmee, Fla. The airplane was substantially damaged although the Private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The pilot later stated that an engine problem resulted in an uneventful precautionary landing the day before. He replaced the damaged No. 2 cylinder exhaust pushrod, pushrod housing, pushrod seals and lock tab but did not inspect the valve. Following the repairs, the engine was started and a full static run-up was performed with no discrepancies. Approximately two miles after takeoff, the engine started running rough. The pilot elected to return and, after recognizing he was going to overshoot the runway, elected to perform a 360-degree turn on final approach. During the turn, the aircraft impacted trees and came to rest in a swamp.
April 17, 2005, Brownwood, Texas
Beech/Raytheon A36 Bonanza
At 0710 Central time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The Airline Transport pilot and three occupants of the airplane were uninjured. Visual conditions prevailed. The business flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot later reported that the engine lost oil pressure and seized during climb-out. The airplane was substantially damaged during the forced landing in a field approximately four miles east of the departure airport. The FAA inspector reported that he did not see any evidence of oil on the engine oil dipstick. He added that the oil cap was secured in place.
