By Jim Timm 
March 2015
For the March accident summary, the following are the preliminary NTSB reports of the aviation accidents that have occurred in Arizona from mid January thru mid February. Hopefully the information from these reports will be used to develop safety programs and briefings that will help pilots learn from the mistakes being made by others and thus take the action needed to prevent similar accidents from occurring.
I don't understand what is happening. Since the first of the year, the NTSB has reported only three aviation accidents in the state and only one of those in the last reporting period. Best of all, none of the accidents had any fatalities, nor apparently, serious injuries. Has the flying activity slowed down that much? The weather has not been that bad to have kept everyone on the ground. No matter what, a short accident report is great!
There are still three reported accidents, one dating back to November, 2014 and two from January, 2015, that are still devoid of detailed accident information. As mentioned before, these reports devoid of details usually only involve minor or no injuries, and should have been avoided.
During this past reporting period there were two previously reported accidents, one dating back to last November, that have had a detailed accident report issued. These two detailed reports are appended to the end of this months summary.
Based on information available when this summary was prepared, the single reported accident was as follows;
Accident Date: Sunday, January 18, 2015
Location: Flagstaff
Aircraft Type: Beech A36TC
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE
THE FOLLOWING ACCIDENTS WERE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED DEVOID OF ACCIDENT INFORMATION. IN THIS REPORTING PERIOD, THE ACCIDENT DETAILS BECAME AVAILABLE.
Accident Date: Monday, November 17, 2014
Report Dated (2/11/15)
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Wittman
Aircraft Type: Ultramagic N-250 (Balloon)
Injuries: 1 Serious, 2 Minor, 9 Uninjured
EXCESSIVE WIND LANDING
The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to take the 11 passengers on a hot-air balloon sightseeing tour. The pilot reviewed the weather forecast for the day which disclosed that wind speeds would be less than 8 mph. The morning departure occurred in calm wind conditions and the pilot maneuvered the balloon for about 30 to 40 minutes before he noticed the wind was becoming stronger. As he descended to land, he noted that the wind was reaching 15 to 20 mph. In an effort to make a quick stop, he attempted to activate the rapid deflation valve, which was slower than he expected. The balloon subsequently collided with a tree which resulted in substantial damage to the basket.
Accident Date: Thursday, January 1, 2015
Report Dated (2/18/15)
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Yuma
Aircraft Type: Cessna 140
Injuries: 2 Minor Injuries
LOSS OF CONTROL ON TAKE OFF
The pilot stated that he landed at a private airstrip earlier in the day and was departing with the intention of returning to his home airstrip. Prior to departure, he noted a left crosswind of about 15 mph. The initial phase of the takeoff was normal, and when becoming airborne, the wind lifted the left wing and the airplane drifted right over the adjacent field. The field was at a lower elevation, and with the loss of ground effect, the airplane sank resulting in the tail wheel colliding with the ground. Thereafter, the main landing gear impacted an irrigation pipe and the airplane flipped over inverted. During the accident sequence the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings.