by Jim Timm
The following are the reports of aviation accidents and incidents that have occurred in Arizona from January through February. We hope to use the following detailed accident information to develop safety programs, briefings, and posters/flyers that would help pilots learn from the mistakes being made by others and be able to take the necessary action to prevent them from having similar occurrences.
In this reporting period aviation safety was not very good because of the number of accidents/incidents that had occurred, but most important, no one lost their life in any of the occurrences, and there was only one minor injury that had occurred.
In continuing with the expanded scope of the report, we’re using information from the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), FAA, NTSB, and APA Members. These information sources give us a pretty good idea of what is happening out there so we can help make flying a bit safer.
In the meantime, here are the results from the above sources.
Date: January 19, 2023
Source: FAA
Location: Gila Bend (E63)
Type: USAF F16
Injuries: 1 Uninjured
COLLISION WITH A UAS (INCIDENT)
The F16 was assigned to the 195th Squadron, TUS ANG. The aircraft was struck by a UAS. While there were no injuries, there was minor damage to the rear of the aircraft canopy.
Date: January 21, 2023
Source: FAA
Location: Lake Havasu (HII)
Type: Mooney M20
Injuries: 2 Uninjured
LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED ON LANDING (INCIDENT)
The landing gear collapsed during a hard landing at the Lake Havasu Airport. The damage was determined to be minor.
Date: January 21, 2023
Source: FAA, NTSB
Location: Skull Valley (15 mi southwest of Prescott)
Type: Cessna 172
Injuries: 2 Uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL LANDING (INCIDENT)
The Cessna 172 lost control when landing and hit some trees. The damage was determined to be minor by the NTSB.
Date: January 21, 2023
Source: FAA
Location: Ryan Field (RYN)
Type: Extra EA-300
Injuries: 1 Uninjured
BRAKE FAILURE AFTER HARD LANDING (INCIDENT)
The pilot reported that he made a hard landing at Ryan Field (RYN) followed by the brakes not working. The aircraft went off the runway and came to rest. The pilot requested a tow to parking. The Airport Ops. people stated there was no aircraft damage nor damage to the airport environment.
Date: January 23, 2023
Source: FAA, NTSB
Location: Glendale (GEU)
Type: Piper PA30 Twin Comanche
Injuries: 2 Uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL LANDING (INCIDENT)
During the landing the Piper Comanche ran off the runway, striking a runway light, resulting in a prop strike. Per the FAA the extent of the damage was unknown, but the NTSB assessed the damage to be minor.
Date: January 29, 2023
Source: FAA, NTSB
Location: Prescott (PRC)
Type: Sonic Zenos (Light Sport)
Injuries: 1 uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL TAKING OFF (INCIDENT)
The Sonex Zenos ground looped during the takeoff roll, and then taxied back to the ramp. The damage was unknown, but the NTSB determined the damage was minor in nature.
Date: February 5, 2023
Source: FAA
Location: Buckeye (BXK)
Type: Cirrus SR20
Injuries: 2 Uninjured
BIRD STRIKE (INCIDENT)
The Cirrus encountered a bird strike while in the pattern at the Buckeye Airport. The type of bird was unknown, but there was damage to the right wing. The aircraft was flown to Goodyear Airport (GYR) and made a safe landing. The extent of the damage was unknown.
Date: February 6, 2023
Source: FAA, NTSB, ASN
Location: Yuma
Type: Bell OH-58A
Injuries: 1 Minor Injury
INFLIGHT POWER LOSS
A Bell OH-58A helicopter was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Yuma. The helicopter was operated as a Part 137 agricultural aerial application flight.
The pilot reported that after the night application of chemical insecticide, he landed on the load truck and the chemical hopper was filled with 50 gallons of water. He maneuvered the helicopter to an open field in low light conditions and expelled the water to rinse out the applicator system. While he was maneuvering about 30 to 40 feet above ground level, with a speed near effective translational lift at 80% torque, the helicopter suddenly started to bounce and yaw. The pilot heard the turbine engine spool down as he held full throttle position, and the engine lost all power. The pilot arrested his forward movement by raising the nose. He then leveled the helicopter and started to descend. The pilot raised the collective to control the descent, but the helicopter landed hard. Subsequently, the main rotor blade struck and severed the tail rotor driveshaft and the main rotor blade mast was damaged. The main rotor blades separated from the mast, and landed about 100 feet from the helicopter.