By Fred Gibbs

 

We are now 7 months into 2022 with five fatal accidents here in Arizona since the beginning of the year, with seven fatalities. There was also one fatal accident over in California involving an Arizona-based pilot and aircraft. It appears that the current numbers are tending to mirror the average rate over the past many years I have been tracking fatal accidents. We did, however, manage to make it through July without a fatal accident. Below is a summary of the accidents so far this year here in Arizona.

The first accident was a Van’s RV-7A that crashed under unknown circumstances near the Triangle Airpark (AZ50), White Hills, Mohave County, Arizona. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured.

The 2nd accident, a Robison R22 helicopter, crashed short of the runway at Gila Bend Municipal Airport. The sole pilot onboard, a student pilot, was fatally injured. He was declared dead at the scene after the helicopter crashed short of the runway.

The 3rd crash occurred on June 15. The NTSB issued a preliminary report on the crash of an experimental plane, a Covie Quickie, near Gila Bend Municipal Airport. Authorities said the passenger was ejected upon impact and pronounced dead at the scene, while the pilot was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The 4th accident occurred on June 18th over in Buckeye. Two people were on board a Beech E35 plane that crashed in the desert northwest of the airport. The pilot died at the scene, and the passenger later died from his injuries.

A 5th accident occurred on May 25, 2022. A Cessna C-172 was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Show Low, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured.

There was also a fatal accident over in California involving a Mooney flown by an Arizona-based pilot. Authorities are investigating after his airplane crashed in a field after takeoff when the plane struck a building on the south side of the 101 freeway after taking off from the Camarillo Airport.

FOR INFORMATION ON ALL ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED LAST MONTH, REFER TO JIM TIMM’S ACCIDENT SUMMARY HEREIN.

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