AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine, and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in 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.
May 1, 2018, Reno, Nev.
Thunder Mustang Experimental
At about 1930 Pacific time, the airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing. The solo air transport pilot was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplane was participating in an air-to-air photography mission with another Thunder Mustang and a third airplane.
At the conclusion of the photo mission, the airplanes approached the airport from the north. At this time, the accident pilot transmitted a “Mayday” call and stated he intended to land on Runway 14. The other Thunder Mustang’s pilot observed the accident airplane over the runway. As it neared the end of the runway, it veered off the right side and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The cockpit canopy was shattered, and the pilot’s helmet “appeared to be impinged against the gravel surface,” according to the NTSB.
The airplane was equipped with a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 12-cylinder engine. The engine’s various accessories were driven via pulleys and two parallel serpentine belts. Examination revealed the water pump pulley had separated from the pump drive flange. Both serpentine belts had detached, along with the top of the engine coolant outlet hose.
May 2, 2018, Marathon, Texas
Kitfox III Experimental
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing at about 1100 Central time, immediately after takeoff. The airline transport pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed.
The pilot later reported the airplane rolled violently to the right during takeoff, at about 15 feet AGL. He applied full aileron and rudder opposite the roll, but the airplane didn’t respond. Its right wing struck the ground and it then impacted a mesquite tree. Examination revealed three of the four hinges connecting the right flaperon hanger rib had come loose. The wood of the flaperon appeared to by dry-rotted where the hinges connected. A 1991 service bulletin from the airplane’s kit manufacturer advised reinforcing the flaperon attachment area with a metal fixture. The accident airplane did not have the fixture installed.
May 3, 2018, Tamiami, Fla.
Cessna 152
At about 2241 Eastern time, the airplane collided with terrain. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. Night instrument conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site; no flight plan was filed.
The airplane took off into dark night conditions and subsequently flew into instrument conditions near the accident site. The airplane owner later stated that the pilots lost control of the airplane while in the clouds, “entered a spin from which they recovered, then entered another spin. After recovering from the second spin the airplane collided with terrain.”
May 6, 2018, Fort Apache, Ariz.
Grumman TBM-3
The airplane is presumed to have impacted terrain following the 1338 Mountain time bailout of the pilot and passenger due to a partial loss of engine power. The private pilot and the pilot-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual conditions existed.
The flight’s purpose was to relocate the newly purchased airplane from California to Illinois. In preparation for the trip, both pilots wore parachutes. While in cruise and as the airplane approached the highest terrain of the trip, the pilots heard a loud bang. Thick smoke entered the cockpit. The engine was not producing enough power to maintain altitude; the pilot-passenger observed oil exiting the right side of the engine cowling.
As the airplane descended, the pilot determined there were no safe landing areas, so he decided they would bail out from about 2,500 feet AGL. The parachutes deployed successfully, but the two received serious injuries after landing in trees and falling to the ground. Although there was no cell phone coverage, a fire service truck passing through the area found the survivors at about 1100 the next day. Radar data indicate the airplane continued eastbound on a stable, descending flight path and is presumed to have impacted terrain.
May 7, 2018, Broomfield, Colo.
Cessna 182 Skylane
At about 1139 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged while landing. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed.
The pilot later reported that he had made two uneventful full-stop landings at a private airstrip he owned. He made a normal approach and initially touched down on the main landing gear. However, the airplane immediately swerved to the right when the nose wheel contacted the runway. It nosed over in the grass area alongside the runway and came to a stop.
A witness reported the airplane’s nose wheel was rotated about 75 degrees from its normal alignment. When it contacted the runway, it did not align with the runway heading and the airplane immediately swerved to the right. Preliminary examination revealed that the nose landing gear scissor assembly had fractured, allowing the nose wheel to rotate freely on its strut.
This article originally appeared in the August 2018 issue ofAviation Safetymagazine.
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