Collisions

Some recent fatal accidents have highlighted that general aviation pilots sometimes forget where they are and simply presume they have the performance and terrain clearance to motor off toward their destination after takeoff. That’s a result of complacency in the cockpit, aided and abetted by ATC giving us vectors when departing airports served by a […]

October 1, 2021, Chandler, Ariz. Robinson R22/Piper PA-28-181 At about 0740 Mountain time, the Piper airplane and Robinson helicopter collided in midair. The airplane sustained minor damage; the flight instructor and student aboard it were not injured. The helicopter was destroyed; its flight instructor and student were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. Both aircraft were […]

September 2, 2021, Enterprise, Ore. Cessna 172E Skyhawk At about 1130 Pacific time, the airplane was substantially damaged when its nose wheel assembly failed and it departed the runway before nosing over onto its back. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. Just prior to lifting off from a grass strip, the […]

The AOPA Air Safety Institute (AOPA/ASI) recently released the latest in its continuing series of Joseph T. Nall Reports, the 31st. As with last year’s release of two years’ worth of data, AOPA/ASI is publishing the latest report on its web site, which allows it to provide monthly updates as new numbers flow in. As […]

At 0848 Central time, the two aircraft collided while preparing to land. The RV-6A was destroyed and its pilot fatally injured; the RV-8 substantially damaged; its pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. Both airplanes were part of a four-aircraft formation preparing to land at the time of the accident. The RV-8s pilot was the lead and reported the formation was established over the approach end of the runway when he initiated an overhead pattern. Shortly after starting his turn he felt the impact with the other airplane. He was able to maintain control and subsequently landed on runway 36. A ground-based witness reported the lead airplane executing a climbing left turn away fro…

The two aircraft collided in flight approximately three miles south of the Gillespie Field Airport at 1642 Pacific time. Both aircraft were destroyed in the collision sequence and post-impact fires. The CFI and pilot undergoing instruction in the Cessna 172RG and the Private pilot/sole occupant of the Cessna 182Q were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed, and included high broken cloud cover with a visibility of 25 miles. A pilot-rated witness reported the two airplanes were flying at an estimated 1800 feet msl. One airplane was flying southwest; the other was flying east. The airplanes were in the Gillespie Field Class Delta airspace when the airplane flying eastbound impacted the a…

At about 1510 Pacific time, a taxiing Cessna 172N collided on the ground with a standing Cessna 172P. The Private pilot and one passenger in the taxiing Cessna 172N were not injured; the airplane sustained minor damage. The CFI, the Student pilot, and one passenger in the standing Cessna 172P were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Both aircraft were preparing to depart. Visual conditions prevailed. The Cessna 172Ns pilot subsequently stated that, while attempting to taxi around a stationary airplane in a crowded run-up area, he took his eyes off the wing area, and the wing tip of his airplane collided with the other airplanes rudder and vertical stabilizer….

Both airplanes were substantially damaged when they collided while while landing at about 1200 Eastern time. None of the six persons aboard both airplanes was injured; visual conditions prevailed. The Malibu was landing on Runway 6 as the Aerostar landed on Runway 15. The right wing of each airplane made contact at the runway intersection, and both right wings sustained substantial damage….

At 2018 Mountain time, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 collided on the ground with a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Both airplanes were operating as scheduled domestic passenger flights under Part 121 The collision occurred following the landing of one 737 on Runway 26. The Boeing proceeded south on Taxiway R and was turning clockwise onto Taxiway D when its left winglet hit the other 737s right horizontal stabilizer. The arriving 737 sustained minor damage to its left winglet. The other 737, which was standing with its brakes set at intersection D13, sustained substantial damage to its right horizontal stabilizer. There were a total o…

The two aircraft collided in mid-air and were destroyed at 1405 Eastern time. Visual conditions prevailed; all four aboard both airplanes were fatally injured. The Lancair, with a pilot and pilot-rated passenger aboard had departed Carroll County–Tolson Airport (TSO), Carrollton, Ohio, with an intended destination of Portage County Airport (29G), Ravenna, Ohio. The Cessna, with a flight instructor and dual student aboard, was engaged in a dual instructional flight, having departed departed Akron Fulton International Airport (AKR)….