These are the stories for today...
Be safe out there!
Tom
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Plane makes emergency landing on Ocean City beach
By Jana Ruark, Stella Guzik
OCEAN CITY, Md.- A plane made an emergency landing 
on the beach near 94th St. in Ocean City around 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Ocean City Fire Department.
"We turned to the right, and there is a plane crash landing about a foot over our heads," says Skyler Cook, who was on the beach during the emergency. "I mean, we sprawled out and ducked down to save ourselves."
Maryland State Police says the pilot and a passenger, both of Bel Air, MD, refused medical treatment. No injuries were reported.
"There was no sound, I just suddenly saw a plane, like dive down. It was level, it just flew level with the sand, and then nose-dived into the sand and crashed," says BethAnn Wells, who lives in an apartment near the scene.
The fire department says the single-engine 1970 Cessna 150 had departed from the Ocean City Municipal Airport before the incident.
NTSB/FAA will lead the investigation.
https://www.wboc.com/news/developing-plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-ocean-city-beach/article_74314dbc-f5c2-4e2b-805d-2768459f29cb.html
Pilot killed when small plane crashes in field near Westerly State Airport
by SCOTT ALLEN, NBC 10 NEWS
WESTERLY, R.I. (WJAR) — A small plane crashed Monday near Westerly State Airport, killing the pilot. 
Police said the man who died was in his 20s, lived locally, and attended a local flight school. His name was not immediately released.
"A Cessna C172 crashed in a field near Westerly State Airport in Rhode Island around 12:05 p.m. local time on Monday, May 18. Only the pilot was on board," the FAA said in a statement. "The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide any updates."
Authorities said the pilot was trying to land at Westerly State Airport shortly after noon, when he was forced to make an emergency landing in a field.
First responders rushed the pilot to the hospital, where he died.
The wreckage sat at the edge of the field along some trees.
According to an FAA database, the single-engine plane was registered to a company in Wilmington, Delaware.
It will likely be more than a year until a full investigation into the crash is complete.
Incidents at the airport have been few and far between, with the most notable happening in 1999 when a pilot lost control and crashed beyond the runway, killing three people.
Jenny Fizzano and her family live near the airport, and the crash site is just a three minute walk through the woods from their home.
"It's scary because we have four children, so we're always out and about in the woods right there," Fizzano said.
Other nearby neighbors told NBC 10 that their thoughts are with the pilot's family, and it was a shocking sight to see as they were driving by the scene on Airport Road.
"There was a bunch of police cars and stuff, and we looked back and saw the plane," said Alex Luzzi. "We went back in the woods because it's right over there behind our house. God forbit it would've happened even closer to someone's house, it could have been a lot worse."
The NTSB is expected to arrive to the scene Tuesday morning.
NBC 10's Mike Cerullo and Devin Bates contributed to this report.
https://turnto10.com/news/local/small-plane-emergency-crash-runway-westerly-state-airport-rhode-island-may-18-2026
NTSB probes why a UPS jet lost an engine and crashed on takeoff
By Alexandra Skores
Washington —
The National Transportation Safety Board will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to investigate why a UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11F lost an engine and crashed after taking off last year from Louisville, Kentucky.
The hearing comes just days after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the same type of aircraft to return to the skies.
On November 4, UPS flight 2976, a cargo plane headed to Hawaii, crashed moments after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, spreading flames and wreckage for a half-mile and sending black smoke billowing into the sky. Fourteen people died, including the three crew members on the plane 23 people on the ground were injured.
The UPS freighter was a 34-year-old jet with three engines: two on the wings and one on the tail.
Now, over the two days of the hearing, the NTSB will question witnesses, including representatives of UPS, the pilot’s union, the FAA and Boeing, to help determine what went wrong.
Preliminary findings show fatigue cracks, overstressing
The agency already determined a pair of structural fittings that kept the left jet engine attached to the wing failed, according to a preliminary NTSB report.
Airport surveillance video the NTSB analyzed frame by frame showed the engine separating and going up and over the wing before falling alongside the runway. The plane spewed fire and only got about 30 feet in the air before crashing into a warehouse, storage yard, and petroleum recycling facility.
The pieces attaching the engine to the wing, known as lugs, showed signs of fatigue cracking and over-stressing, investigators said.
Three days after the crash, UPS grounded its MD-11 planes, and the following day the FAA grounded all MD-11 planes in the United States until inspections were completed. At the time of the crash, MD-11 aircraft made up approximately 9% of UPS’ fleet, the carrier said. FedEx and Western Global Airlines also flew the same type of aircraft.
Last week, “after extensive review, the FAA approved Boeing’s protocol for safely returning MD-11 airplanes to service,” the agency told CNN in a statement.
Boeing, the manufacturer is responsible for the MD-11 since it bought McDonnell Douglas, provided inspection and repair instructions. Boeing “continues to provide technical support and guidance to help them meet FAA requirements,” a company spokesperson told CNN.
UPS announced it does not plan to fly its MD-11s any longer. However FedEx has already resumed some flights with repaired and inspected aircraft.
Unanswered questions
During this week’s hearings, more details about what caused the crash are expected to be made public.
All previous maintenance will be reviewed, including overhaul work done for six weeks that the aircraft was out of service in September and October in San Antonio, Texas. The plane resumed flying for UPS less than a month before the crash.
The information from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder will indicate what the pilots said and how they reacted to the troubled flight.
Investigators will also probe what information UPS was required to report to Boeing and the FAA, operational safety process and engine attachment designs.
A final report from the NTSB is typically expected in 18 to 24 months after an accident, detailing the probable causes of the crash. The agency does not place blame but determines what went wrong and provides recommendations to improve safety.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/19/us/ntsb-ups-investigation
NTSB Preliminary Report On Fatal Arizona Plane Crash
Plane Bounced Several Times On Marana Runway Before Going Off End And Catching Fire
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the April 8 plane crash at Marana Regional Airport that killed Chris Sheafe, a longtime member of the Rio Nuevo Board in Tucson, and his wife, Jacque Sheafe.
The couple died when their single-engine Piper PA-32R-301T crashed while attempting to land at the airport northwest of Tucson at around 5:10 p.m.
The Sheafes were returning from a cross-country flight they had made several days before the incident. They departed from Springerville, Ariz., at around 3:50 p.m. after refueling, the report said. As it approached one of the airport's runways, the plane likely touched down before taking off again as Chris Sheafe aborted the landing with 1,975 feet of runway remaining, according to the NTSB report.
The plane then performed a go-around to attempt the landing. The plane touched down on the runway a second time with only 1,500 feet of runway remaining, then "bounced back airborne several times" as it gradually slowed before going off the runway and bursting into flames, the report said.
The preliminary report did not identify what caused the crash.
FMI: www.ntsb.com
NTSB Prelim: Cessna 401B
The Total Duration Of The Flight Was About 30 Seconds
Location: Land O' Lakes, FL Accident Number: ERA26FA179
Date & Time: April 19, 2026, 08:34 Local Registration: N122AT
Aircraft: Cessna 401B Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On April 19, 2026, about 0834 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 401B, N122AT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Land O’ Lakes, Florida. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Witnesses reported hearing the airplane flying at a low altitude, which drew their attention. One witness reported that the airplane was flying low and that the engine power sounded as though it was decreasing. The witness observed the airplane enter a descending left turn, followed by a brief right turn and a slight climb, before it “dropped out of the sky.” The witness then observed a large fireball followed by a plume of smoke.
Review of airport surveillance video showed the pilot arriving at the airport in a separate airplane, which he secured before conducting a preflight inspection of the accident airplane. The pilot was observed boarding the accident airplane and starting both engines; no noticeable anomalies were noted during engine start. The pilot taxied to the run-up area, where an engine run-up was performed. The airplane then taxied to runway 32 for departure. The video showed the airplane begin its takeoff roll and climb normally after liftoff. The airplane was observed reaching an altitude of about 200 ft above ground level (agl) before exiting the camera’s field of view. A plume of smoke was observed rising shortly thereafter.
The airplane came to rest in the backyard area of multiple residential homes. The fuselage was heavily damaged by impact forces and post-impact fire. The cockpit and cabin sections were largely consumed by fire, and the instrument panel was destroyed. Due to thermal damage, instrument indications were unreliable. All cockpit switches were destroyed by post-impact fire. The main landing gear was observed in the retracted position. Flight control continuity was established to all flight control surfaces.
Preliminary ADS-B data indicated that the airplane departed runway 32 at Tampa North Aero Park (X39), Tampa, Florida about 0834. During the initial climb, the airplane reached about 100 ft agl at an airspeed of about 81 knots. The airplane subsequently climbed to about 200 ft agl at an airspeed of about 86 knots and then slowed to about 79 knots. Track data was lost shortly thereafter. The total duration of the flight was about 30 seconds.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
33 Years ago today: On 19 May 1993 SAM Colombia flight 501, a Boeing 727-46, was destroyed when it struck the side of a mountain near Medellín, Colombia. There were 125 passengers and seven crew members on board. All were killed.
| Date: | Wednesday 19 May 1993 |
| Time: | 15:06 |
| Type: | Boeing 727-46 |
| Owner/operator: | SAM Colombia |
| Registration: | HK-2422X |
| MSN: | 18876/217 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 53930 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-7 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 132 / Occupants: 132 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 60 km NW of MedellÃn - Colombia |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Panama City-Tocumen International Airport (PTY/MPTO) |
| Destination airport: | Rionegro/MedellÃn-José MarÃa Córdova Airport (MDE/SKRG) |
| Investigating agency: | Aerocivil |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
SAM Colombia flight 501, a Boeing 727-46, was destroyed when it struck the side of a mountain near MedellÃn, Colombia. There were 125 passengers and seven crew members on board. All were killed.
Flight 501 departed Panama City-Tocumen International Airport (PTY) on a scheduled service to MedellÃn (MDE) and Bogotá (BOG), Colombia.
The crew reported over the Abejorral NDB beacon at FL160, approaching MedellÃn. The flight was then cleared to descend to FL120. The 727 had actually not yet reached the beacon, and descended into mountainous terrain. The flight struck Mount Paramo Frontino at 11663 feet. Thunderstorm activity in the area made ADF navigation more difficult and the RNG VOR/DME had been attacked by terrorists and was unserviceable.
CAUSES (translation from Spanish language report)
The probable causes of the accident according to the information gathered during the present investigation were the following:
A. The meteorological conditions prevailing during the flight, due to the presence of an intense convective activity, resulted in the fall of the ADF's needles, in which the low quality of the ground and flight radio aids could have had an influence, spatially disorienting the commander in the cockpit, who made errors in the navigation procedures, did not lead the crew efficiently and handed over the controls to the co-pilot to conduct the flight in the adverse conditions in which it was taking place, when he should have assumed control of the aircraft in the critical situation that existed. Finally, the lack of reaction on the part of the crew, who did not take an adequate and safe decision to climb immediately as an emergency measure.
B. The controllers in Bogota and Medellin did not properly perform a positive control of the navigation of HK-2422 by not verifying the position reports of the mandatory reporting points; likewise within the transfer coordination, the appropriate parts of the updated flight plan were omitted and they forgot to warn the crew about the six minutes difference for the arrival to the true position of Abejorral.
C. The lack of a VOR-DME in the Medellin control area prevented the crew from navigating with near-accurate bearings and distances to the destination airport, which would have allowed the crew to locate themselves geographically.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Lack of supervision by the company in the dispatch, before the beginning of the flight, by not providing the meteorological information available and existing on the route; which notoriously affected the attention and mood of the crew during the flight, due to the presence of meteorological conditions of intense convective activity, with the development of compact cloudiness, electrical activity, hail and ice formation.
Failure in the maintenance of the ADF's installed and in service in the aircraft, which showed low quality and low reliability, due to the repetitive reports of defective operation, which were affected by unfavorable weather conditions and the emission of the radio beacon signal, presenting false indications that could cause doubt and induced in error to the crew.
Lack of a more powerful radio beacon with which the range could have been properly established to support the airway from the Azapa position. Failure in the preparation of the internal flight plan of the SAM company, by omitting to edit in it, the mandatory positions of the Medellin control area (KOTIN), published in Letter No. 100 of April 3, 1993.
Excess of assignments in the Medellin controllers' schedules, in charge of HK 2422 handling.
