California

Twelve minutes after departure, the left engine began to run rough and vibrate. The pilot said he could not correct the problem and shut the left engine down. No emergency was declared and the pilot told ATC that he would continue to his destination, 210 nm and 1.5 hours away. The pilot overflew 5 airports with runways over 5,000 feet long and a mountain range. The pilot executed a VOR approach and entered an extended downwind pattern. On short final the pilot executed a go around because he did not get any gear down indications. He then maneuvered for a downwind landing on runway 12. The aircraft hit the ground 100 yards short of the runway, then collided with a ditch and the airport fence. An FAA inspector said there were three clear tire tracks from the point of touchdown to the ditch, where the gear was sheared off. He found no problems with the gear system. Exam of the left engine revealed a left magneto internal failure due to lack of lubrication and wear, which caused cylinder cross firing.

Douglas DC-7B airtanker N848D had been operating from Stockton, CA (SCK) and had made several drops of retardant on the southeast edge of a fire on the El Dorado National Forest. Their first mission on October 1, 1992, had begun at 08:33. Their fourth mission had them departing the base at 11:56. Their departure was immediately followed by a Lockheed SP2H enroute to the same fire. The DC-7B arrived in the fire vicinity at an elevation of about 6,500 feet MSL at 12:20. Air attack briefed the DC-7B’s two-person flight crew for their retardant drop. Air attack was flying at approximately 7,500 feet MSL. The planned drop was to be made from north to south about one mile west of the upper dam on the reservoir. It was to be the air tanker’s first drop in this particular location. The visibility was good, in excess of ten miles, and turbulence was reported as mild, but bumpy. The area over the lake to the east of the drop pattern was experiencing reduced visibility due to smoke. According to occupants of the second airtanker, the DC-7B made a turn around the fire and was descending northbound for a drop out of a right hand pattern when the DC-7B captain indicated that he wanted to depart the pattern as he had a problem with an engine. He suggested the second airtanker perform the intended drop while he worked with his engine problem. The second airtanker then received attention from air attack and began a circle to fly a pattern similar to the pattern the DC-7B had flown. Shortly thereafter, air attack asked the DC-7B if he needed to abort (drop) his load of retardant. That captain replied that he might have to if he couldn’t solve his engine problem. All communications were normal. Air attack was operating without lead plane assistance as the lead plane had departed the scene for fuel a few minutes before, instructing air attack to perform drops on the west side of the reservoir. Another lead plane was about six minutes out. The mishap air tanker was reported to be descending at about 6,000 feet MSL heading in a north-northwesterly direction after departing the drop pattern, with no visible signs of engine problems and no indication of concern present in his radio transmissions. The DC-7B continued northbound toward gently rising terrain about two miles from the intended drop site and was next observed heading in an easterly direction and low to the ground. The airtanker was reported to be in a sharply pitched up attitude prior to dropping its retardant. Air attack reported that he observed the retardant start and stop, but did not know if a full load had been dropped. He said the load was continuous. The DC-7B was then reported to fall off on the right wing as it descended steeply toward the ground. During this sequence, the captain transmitted on the radio, "We’re going in, we’re going in." It was at this point that tree strikes occurred which removed the horizontal stabilizers and elevators from the tail of the airtanker. This entire sequence took place within the span of about 60 seconds. The airtanker then went behind a ridge and white smoke was observed rising from the site. The airtanker had impacted the ground in steep terrain at an elevation of approximately 5,100 feet MSL. Some of the wreckage was deposited in a creek bottom and the remainder was located on an adjacent south-facing slope. Both the captain and copilot were fatally injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed.

According to the aircraft occupants, the aircraft owner, who holds a commercial pilot and cfi certificates, was occupying the right front seat. A friend of the pilot, a 246 hour private pilot with no experience in high performance turbine powered aircraft, was in the left seat and flying the aircraft under the direction of the owner. While on a straight in approach to the airport, the flight was advised three times by the atct of a variable right cross wind from 200 to 220° at speeds from 8 to 14 knots, with higher gust components. The tower also advised the flight of reports of light to moderate turbulence all the way to the ground. Both pilots reported that the aircraft had just touched down on runway 18 when a sudden cross wind gust lifted the right wing. The private pilot did not correct the situation and the aircraft owner could not overpower the other pilots control inputs in time to correct for the wind gust. The left wing tip drug the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled off the left side of the runway and into an airport fence.

The pilot said he was on the takeoff ground roll at about 100 knots when he discovered that the control lock was still in place. The pilot said he attempted to remove the control lock but could not prior to the aircraft over running the departure end of the 3,400 foot long runway. The aircraft collided with a county sewage treatment building, separating the wings from the fuselage. The aircraft fuselage continued through the building and came to rest on rocks near the beach. All four occupants were seriously injured.

The 3 occupants aboard were: the owner in the left front seat, his wife in the right front seat, and a man hired by the owner to fly the airplane (seat location could not be determined). Prior to takeoff a man telephoned FSS for a weather briefing and to file an IFR flight plan. He told FSS the pilot's name was J. Hamlett; a J. Hamlett was not aboard (it was found later that Hamlett was the maiden name of the wife of the man hired to fly the airplane). Two minutes after takeoff the pilot was told to contact departure; the pilot acknowledged. This was the last recorded radio contact. The airplane collided with a hill obscured by ground fog about 3 miles east of the airport. The man hired to fly the airplane did not possess an airman certificate; his certificate was revoked 2 years prior to the accident. The owner had obtained his private certificate for airplane single-engine land about 1 month prior to the accident, and had not received any multi-engine instruction. All three occupants were killed.

The pilot departed Columbia Airport on a fire fighting mission. After the retardant was dropped on the fire zone, the pilot increased engine power to gain height when the aircraft, flying in reduced visibility due to smoke, collided with trees. It rolled to the left and crashed inverted, bursting into flames. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The twin engine aircraft was completing a liaison flight from China Lake on behalf of the US Navy, carrying seven US Navy personnels and two pilots. On final approach in good weather conditions, the aircraft struck the ground in a relative flat attitude about 800 metres short of runway 22, slid for about 200 metres and came to rest. All seven passengers were seriously injured and both crew members (Lt David W. Garnett and Aean Lorenzo Rodriguez) were killed.

The Piper Navajo had not flown for about 9 months. During preparation for flight the pilot discovered that the battery was dead. The battery was removed for charging by the fixed base operator, the battery box was cleaned and painted. The operator advised that the battery was over 3 years old plus the 9 months of non use rendered the battery non reliable and recommended that it be replaced. The pilot choose not to change the battery. The pilot requested that the main tanks be topped. The pilot flew the airplane for a short time. The next day (day of the accident) the pilot, while preflighting the airplane, discovered that the battery was again dead so he requested an external power cart for starting. About an hour into the cross country flight the pilot stated that both engines quit while on the aux tanks. He stated that he had no electrical power for fuel boost pumps or starters. The airplane collided with electrical power lines during the emergency landing attempt in an alfalfa field.

The ground loader had fueled the airplane from the airport fuel truck. He stated that the flight crew did not sump the fuel tanks after they were fueled. Immediately after takeoff the right engine lost power, the right wing lowered to about 90°, and the airplane impacted the ground adjacent to the runway. Then forward fuel tank, which provides fuel to the right engine, was found to contain about 8 gallons of a heavily contaminated mixture composed of water, an emulsifying agent, and bacterial growth. The fuel from the airport fuel truck and main underground tank contained the same mixture. Fuel had been transferred from the underground tank to the truck on the evening preceding the accident. The left propeller control was found seized in the feather position; left propeller blades in the near feather position. Six skydivers were injured while 16 other occupants including both pilots were killed.

The pilots had entered into an agreement with the 5 pax to fly them to a ski resort. The airplane owner stated that the pic, who was the company pilot, did not have permission to use the airplane, nor did the owner know the pax. The airport at the ski resort is located in mountainous terrain at 6,750 feet msl. There is no instrument approach. There is no record of any weather briefings. The airplane collided with terrain (Mt Clark) at about 6,580 feet msl approximately 7.5 miles southwest of the destination airport. Weather for the area was: mountains locally obscured 3,000 to 5,000 feet scattered to broken with tops to 9,000, and widely scattered visibilities below 3 miles with snow and rain showers. Examination of the wreckage and impact site revealed the aircraft collided with the brush and snow covered 45° slope in a level left turn. All seven occupants were killed.