...And Avoid

Seriously? That’s all we get? Our only takeaway is to watch for other traffic? I want more.

Frank Bowlin

Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 08:27 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A 2022 mid-air collision at Watsonville Airport between a Cessna 340 and a Cessna 152 resulted in three fatalities.
The NTSB attributed the crash primarily to the 340 pilot's failure to see and avoid, noting the aircraft's high approach speed; however, the author deems these findings "inadequate" for merely stating the obvious.
The author argues crucial unaddressed contributing factors include the 340's excessive speed and potential lack of awareness, and the 152 pilot continuing the pattern despite acknowledging the impending conflict, suggesting both pilots could have made minor changes to prevent the accident.

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Watsonville, California, has a nice airport just inland from California’s Monterey Bay. It’s a busy, nontowered (uncontrolled?) airport with extensive flight training, transient, and corporate traffic. Years ago I based my Cessna 340 there.

Watsonville (KWVI) has two runways. The main runway is 2/20 as the wind is almost always off Monterey Bay, favoring Runway 20. The crosswind runway, 9/27, sees less use.