General Aviation Accident Bulletin

Recent general aviation and air carrier accidents

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AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. Find out more aboutAviation Safetyatwww.aviationsafetymagazine.com.


January 25, 2019, Mt. Hood, Ore.

Rockwell Commander 112

The airplane collided with terrain at 1559 Pacific time while maneuvering around the peak of Mount Hood. The solo private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. Visual conditions prevailed.

Radar data indicate a target approaching Mount Hood at 1521 from the north at about 10,000 feet MSL. The target then flew a counterclockwise, six-mile-wide orbit around the 11,239-foot peak. The target got closer to the peak as the orbit continued, until it reached its highest altitude of 11,900 ft about mile north of the summit. The target continued to track around the peak until it reached the southern side, when it rapidly descended. The last recorded radar target was at 9600 feet, about 400 feet northwest of the crash site.

Nearby airports reported relatively light surface winds while area upper air soundings indicated wind speeds reached about 45 knots out of the north at elevations between 10,000 and 15,000 feet.

January 26, 2019, Lexington, KY

Beechcraft S35 Bonanza

At about 1540 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing while on final approach. The airline transport pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

According to the pilot, the airplane was “high” on the approach and he “slipped” it until descending to his desired approach angle. At about 1000 feet AGL, the pilot added power to arrest the descent but the engine did not respond. Remedial actions were unsuccessful at restoring power, and the airplane lacked the altitude necessary to glide to the runway. During the off-field landing, the airplane struck several fences which divided the property and substantially damaged the left wing, fuselage and empennage. The airplane came to rest 1.4 miles from the approach end of the runway. Thirty-seven gallons of fuel were removed from the fuel tanks during recovery operations.

January 27, 2019, Fort Worth, Texas

Beechcraft A36 Bonanza

The airplane lost engine power during a practice instrument approach and was force-landed in a field at 1634 Central time. The airline transport pilot sustained minor injuries; the passenger was seriously injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward portion of the fuselage. Visual conditions were reported at the airport about the time of the accident.

Examination revealed clear, bright fuel free of contaminants was aboard the airplane. The fuel gauges indicated slightly more than in the left fuel tank; the right tank was empty. The fuel selector was positioned on the left tank. According to the pilot, both tanks were full at departure. When the engine lost power, he switched “to the other tank” and attempted to restart the engine, but to no avail.

January 28, 2019, Oceanside, Calif.

Piper PA-28-151 Warrior

At about 2052 Pacific time, the airplane collided with a hillside during initial climb. The commercial pilot was seriously injured, and a pilot-rated passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Instrument conditions prevailed; no flight plan had been filed.

A witness saw the airplane take off but lost sight of it when it flew behind a tree line. However, he then heard a loud impact that he likened to a car crash. He was not able to see the hillside, which was covered in a low fog layer. He reported the crash, but authorities were unable to locate the site until the next morning at about 0715. The airplane had come to rest just below the ridgeline of a 210-foot hill.

January 28, 2019, Prospect, Ore.

Wittman 8-W Tailwind Experimental

The airplane was substantially damaged at about 1750 Pacific time when it impacted terrain following a partial loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. The solo pilot was seriously injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

The pilot had purchased the airplane the previous week, had assembled it the day prior to the accident, and had worked on the engine just prior to the flight. Shortly after taking off to the south and at an altitude of about 200 feet, the engine experienced a partial loss of power. The pilot, unable to maintain altitude, made a forced landing about two miles south of the departure airport. During the landing sequence, the airplane collided with a stand of trees.

January 29, 2019, Grand Prairie, Texas

Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP x 2

At about 1330 Central time, the two Cessnas collided in midair about six nm from their base airport. Both airplanes sustained substantial damage to one wing; one airplane also had a damaged fuselage. The flight instructor and student pilot aboard each airplane were uninjured. Visual conditions prevailed.

The flight instructor aboard one Cessna recalled the other airplane in his left peripheral vision immediately before the collision. He did not have time to react. The other flight instructor also reported he did not have time to avoid the collision, estimating impact occurred within one second of observing the conflict. Both airplanes landed without further damage.


This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue ofAviation Safetymagazine.

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