Utah

Approximately 1/2 mile from the airport after takeoff, the pilot noticed the left front baggage door partly open and made a left turn back toward the airstrip. After the turn, the baggage door came completely open, the left wing dropped immediately and the aircraft stalled. The pilot added full power and lowered the nose. When he raised the nose near the ground, the aircraft shuddered and crashed. Two rescue personnel, both certified pilots, arrived shortly after the accident and found the nose baggage door in the unlocked position with the bayonet pins retracted. A Piper representative stated that if the left side nose baggage door of a PA-31 opened in flight there would be the likelihood of an interruption to the smooth airflow through the prop, possibly reducing the thrust produced by the blades.

The pilot started the approach to Provo Municipal Airport by night. Due to limited visibility, he was unable to locate the runway as the lights were off. On final, the twin engine airplane crashed in a swamp located near the airport and was destroyed. Both occupants were killed.

The four engine airplane departed Ogden-Hill AFB at 0445LT on a cargo flight to Nellis AFB on behalf of the USAF, carrying three crew members and 27,552 lbs of cargo. While climbing from 12,000 to 13,000 feet, the flight indicated to Salt Lake departure control that they had lost all electrical power, the flight requested no-gyro vectors to visual flight conditions and clearance for an immediate descent to a lower altitude. During the descent, the aircraft attained a high airspeed and high rate of descent and disintegrated in flight. The three crewmembers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed. The wreckage was dispersed along a path about 1 1/2 miles long on an abandoned airport located about 4 nmi south of the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Few minutes after takeoff from Provo Airport, while climbing in marginal weather conditions and limited visibility, the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Spanish Fork, few miles southeast of Provo. The wreckage was found four days later, on January 13. All five occupants were killed.

About 0138:28 m.s.t. on December 18, 1977, a United Airlines, Inc., DC-8F-54 cargo aircraft, operating as Flight 2860, crashed into a mountain in the Wasatch Range near Kaysville, Utah. The three flightcrew members, the only persons aboard the aircraft, were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. Flight 2860 encountered electrical system problems during its descent and approach to the Salt Lake City Airport. The flight requested a holding clearance which was given by the approach controller and accepted by the flight crew. The flight then requested and received clearance to leave the approach control frequency for a "little minute" to communicate with company maintenance. Flight 2860 was absent from the Approach control frequency for 7 1/2 minutes. During that time, the flight entered an area near hazardous terrain. The approach controller recognized Flight 2860's predicament but was unable to contact the flight. When flight 2860 returned to approach control frequency, the controller told the flight that it was too close to terrain on its right and to make a left turn. After the controller repeated the instructions, the flight began a left turn and about 15 seconds later the controller told the flight to climb immediately to 8,000 feet. Eleven seconds later, the flight reported that it was climbing from 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet. The flight crashed into a 7,665-foot mountain near the 7,200-foot level. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

While cruising by night at an altitude of 17,500 feet on a ferry flight from Phoenix to Butte, the twin engine airplane collided with a USAF General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark registered 67-0055. Following the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed in flames near Kingston. The pilot of the Commander was killed while both military pilots were seriously injured.

En route from Milford (Utah) to Grand Junction, Colorado, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to clouds, snow falls and icing conditions. In cruising altitude, he lost control of the airplane that entered a dive and crashed in mountainous terrain located near Bicknell. The wreckage was found nine days later on November 11. Both occupants have been killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Logan-Cache Airport, while in initial climb, the front left cargo door opened, detached and struck the tail. The pilot was unable to maintain a safe control of the airplane that crash landed in a field past the runway end. All seven occupants were injured, one of them seriously.

En route from Eagle to Las Vegas by night, the pilot encountered strong headwinds and severe icing conditions. In low ceiling, he lost control of the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed in a mountainous terrain located near Hatch. The wreckage was found four days later, on January 24, and all six occupants have been killed.

While in cruising altitude, the pilot encountered problems with the left propeller and lost control of the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed in Roosevelt. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were killed.