Collisions

At 13:20 PDT, a Cessna 172P and an RV-6A collided in mid-air about six miles east of Pangborn Memorial Airport. Both aircraft received minor damage but the two occupants of the Cessna and the pilot of the RV-6A were uninjured. The Cessna had departed from Wenatchee about one hour prior to the collision for the local instructional flight and the RV-6A had just taken off from Wenatchee. The Cessna was on the VOR-A approach to Wenatchee, inbound on the 285 degree radial and near the final approach fix. The instructor was just about to announce their location and intentions on the Unicom frequency. The pilot of the RV-6A reported that he had announced his departure from runway 30 on Unicom, made…

At approximately 11:30 MST, a Cessna 150E and a Cessna TU206F collided in mid-air four miles southwest of Vance Brand Airport. The two occupants of the 150 and the sole occupant of the 206 were uninjured. Both airplanes were approaching to land. The pilot of the 150 saw the 206 at a close distance and tried to avoid it, but the wingtips struck. Both airplanes were able to land safely….

At about 10:23 EST, a Piper PA-44-180 and a Piper PA-28-161, both on instructional flights, collided near the departure end of runway 5 at the Deland Municipal Airport. The pilot and instructor in each plane were killed. The Warrior, part of Embry-Riddles fleet, had received a VFR clearance from Daytona Beach controllers for a flight to Leesburg, but apparently began flying traffic patterns on runway 5 in Deland after radar service was terminated with Daytona Beach Tower. The Seminole also left Daytona Beach on a local IFR clearance to perform a practice VOR 23 approach at Deland, to be followed by NDB and ILS approaches. After the Seminole was cleared for the VOR approach, the pilot cancel…

At 13:29 EDT, a Cessna 337C and a Cessna 305C collided in mid-air while conducting flybys at an airshow at Harriman and West Airport. Both pilots were killed. The 337 was painted to resemble an O-2 US Air Force Vietnam era observation airplane and the 305 was painted to resemble a US Army L-19, a Korean war and Vietnam era training and observation airplane. The two airplanes were part of a flight of three. The 337 was restricted to a minimum altitude of 500 feet agl and the 305 was restricted from climbing above 200 feet agl. The 305 was paired with an O-59 World War II observation plane. The 337 had made one pass over the field and was coming around for a second pass when the airplane start…

At 15:10 PDT, a Waco UPF7 struck a Cessna 195 while taxiing for takeoff at the Jean airport. The Cessna 195 was on a taxiway holding short of runway 2L waiting for departure and the Waco UPF7 was taxiing to runway 2L for departure. No one was injured. The airport manager said the taxiway is too narrow for the Waco to effectively S-turn. The Waco struck the tail of the Cessna with its propeller….

At about 14:35 EST, a Cessna 310D and a Beech A36 collided while approaching to land on runway 07 at Witham Field. The pilot of the 310 and the two occupants of the Bonanza were uninjured. An IFR flight plan was on file for the Bonanza and visual conditions existed. The pilot of the 310 skirted the class C airspace at Palm Beach and was told to report a four-mile right base for runway 7. Then he was cleared for the visual approach. He reported hearing Witham Tower clear the Bonanza for the GPS runway 12 approach. After he was established on final at about 800 feet, he heard a loud noise and saw the Bonanza on his right. He landed and found the fuel cap of the left wing tip tank was missing,…

At 11:10 EST, a Bellanca 8KCAB and a Piper PA-25 collided in midair and crashed at Vansant Airport. The two occupants in the Bellanca and the pilot of the Piper suffered minor injuries. The flight instructor in the Decathlon said they were in the traffic pattern for several minutes and were on the fourth approach to Runway 7 and about 50 feet agl at the time of the accident. He said: We were on final and [the private pilot] started to pull the nose up to stretch his glide. I told him, Dont do that. Lower the nose and add power. All of a sudden there was this big clunk and I said, What are you doing? At that point I took the controls, but they stopped working. We hit the ground about…

At 17:30 CST, an Aeronca 11AC and an EAA Biplane P2 collided on runway 15 at Sherman AFB. No one was injured. The Aeronca had originally departed from Platte City, Mo., and was practicing touch and go landings at Sherman AFB. The Biplane departed St. Joseph, Mo., around 17:00 cst and was landing at Sherman AFB. The Aeronca had touched down and was in the process of transitioning for takeoff when the Biplane landed and struck the tail of the Aeronca, which was not equipped with a radio….

At 14:00 EST, a Cessna 152 and a Cessna 140A collided during landing on runway 16 at the Clearwater Air Park. None of the three occupants was injured. The 152, which held a flight instructor and a student pilot, landed on runway 16 and was about 1,500 feet down the runway when the Cessna 140 landed on top of it….

At about 10:35 EST, a Cessna 172K taxied into the path of a Cessna 152 on its takeoff roll on runway 14 at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The two occupants in each plane were killed. The accident was apparently the result of the tower controller mistaking the 172 for an airplane at another spot on the field and clearing it to taxi into position and hold. The 172 had been holding at an intersection, however, and taxied into the 152s path. For more information, see the May issue of Aviation Safety….