Cessna 207 Skywagon/Stationair

Crashed in poor weather conditions. Occupant fate unknown.

Shortly after takeoff, on the last leg on it's flight, the engine of the air cargo aircraft started to sputter. The pilot turned the fuel selector handler from the left tank to another position and turned on the boost pump. The engine stopped running and the pilot elected to land in a public park. The left wing was torn off the aircraft during the emergency landing. Investigation revealed that the fuel selector had been turned to the 'off' position, a check of the fuel quantity in each tank showed less than five gallons in the left tank and about twelve gallons in the right tank. Sole on board, the pilot was slightly injured.

According to the pilot-in-command, he was attempting to fly through a mountain saddle. As he turned towards the mountain and began his climb the weather deteriorated rapidly with ceilings zero, visibility zero and severe turbulence. The airplane struck the side of a 1,707 foot high mountain at the 1,590 foot level on a magnetic heading of 015°. The pilot-in-command stated that just prior to impact he could not see anything. Two passengers were killed while three other occupants were seriously injured.

The pilot was attempting a 180° turn to reverse direction away from lowering clouds and snow showers when the right wing dug into the snow covered terrain. The pilot stated a virtual 'white out' condition existed at the time. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot continued the air taxi flight into adverse weather conditions and struck a mountain. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

On final approach about 1.5 miles from the airport the power loss occurred as the pilot attempted to add power. After flying over a ridge and several trees the aircraft touched down in the rough terrain and caught fire. The fire appeared to have started in the vicinity of the fuel strainer and progressed rearward. There were no indications of fire until the aircraft came to rest. The only discrepancy noted during inspection of the aircraft and engine was that 3 left bank fuel injectors were blocked with a substance later identified as primarily being dirt. Both occupants escaped unhurt.

The aircraft collided with trees and the ground during takeoff in IMC weather. The visibility was zero due to ground fog. There were no known witnesses to the accident but there was evidence of a collision with a 60 feet high tree at the end of the 3,000 feet runway. It was not determined whether the pilot used all of the runway. After the collision with the tree the aircraft hit the ground in a left bank and cartwheeled. Both occupants were killed.

The pilot and three passengers took off at night on an over water flight to an island in Lake Erie to provide help to a heart patient. No flight plan was filed and no record of a weather briefing was found. Reportedly, after takeoff, the aircraft disappeared in a cloud or haze. Also after departing, sheriff's personnel received a radio call from the aircraft stating 'we are in it.' According to local residents, there was patchy fog in the area. When the aircraft did not arrive at its destination, a search was initiated. The plane was found in Lake Erie along the expected route of flight. The aircraft was intact, except the engine was loose from the firewall and there was major damage to the right, outer wing panel. No preimpact/mechanical malfunction/failure was found. About 45 miles west at Toledo, OH, the 2150 weather in part was: 1,500 feet overcast, visibility variable 1 to 2 miles with fog, temp 32°, dew point 31°, wind from 330° at 4 knots.

Before takeoff, the pilot filed a company flight plan for a VFR flight from Boise to Salmon, ID. He reported that during initial climb, the engine surged, then seemed to return to normal operation. He reduced the power to 33 inches of manifold pressure and set the propeller to 2,550 rpm. Shortly thereafter, the engine began losing power again, there was a second surge, then the propeller stopped. During an emergency landing, the pilot elected to cross over a road and land in an open field. He saw a power line along the road at the edge of the field and elected to cross under it to land. However, he did not see a single telephone pole on the opposite side of the road. The left wing struck the pole and the plane cartwheeled and crashed. Three occupants escaped with minor injuries and four others were uninjured. An investigation revealed that the crankshaft had failed from fatigue.

The pilot took off with 4 passengers after waiting 4 hours for the air temperature to cool. The takeoff seemed normal, but over the river at about 50 feet agl, the aircraft began to sink. It impacted rough terrain on the far side of the river. The airport elevation was 2,045 feet msl and the temperature was 90 degrees. All five occupants were seriously injured.