Pilot Error Blamed in Mid-Air Collision Between Boyfriend, Girlfriend
From the Alaska Dispatch:
The National Transportation Safety Board issued a
probable cause report this week for the 2011 midair collision that
resulted in the death of pilot Scott Veal. The agency determined the
accident was caused by “the pilot’s failure to maintain adequate
clearance while performing an unexpected and unannounced abrupt
maneuver, resulting in a midair collision between the two airplanes.”
According to NTSB investigator Clint Johnson, chief of the Alaska
Region, analysis of the wreckage is consistent with an attempted pass by
one of the aircraft over the other that resulted in a collision.
... Veal was flying a Cessna Caravan for Grant
Aviation and Kristen Sprague was flying a Cessna 207 for Ryan Air. Both
aircraft were based in Bethel and returning home with no passengers or
cargo onboard when the accident occurred. The Caravan was en route from
Toksook Bay, the 207 from Tununak. According to the NTSB report, the
pilots were involved in a personal relationship and, through
communication on a prearranged radio frequency, met up while in flight
with the intention of returning to Bethel together. They collided at
1,200 feet about nine miles north of the village of Nightmute, and the
Caravan went into a spin and crashed at 1:35 p.m. Sprague was uninjured
and completed an emergency landing with the damaged C207.
... The Caravan was on fire after the crash and a
large portion of the fuselage, cockpit/cabin area and engine were
"embedded in a large crater.” The 207 landed about two miles away.
Investigators followed a wreckage path that extended 1,500 feet from the
Caravan. They located portions of the Caravan’s vertical stabilizer,
the leading edge of which had red paint matching the wing of the 207 on
it.
Investigators also discovered a portion of the 207
right aileron which was “severely distorted and crushed.” The Caravan’s
severed rudder and vertical stabilizer were found together, about 1,000
feet from the main wreckage.
The 207 itself bore evidence of extensive structural
damage on the trailing edge of the right wing. About four feet of the
airplane’s right aileron was missing. Further, a portion of wreckage
measuring 6 inches by 4 inches and bearing a part number that matched
the Caravan’s structural doubler assembly from the vertical stabilizer
was found embedded in the trailing edge of the 207’s right wing.
After
consultation with Cessna, it was determined that the damage to the
Caravan’s tail and the C207’s right wing are consistent with the larger
aircraft passing over the 207 and then diving to the right at the time
of impact. This scenario explains how the tail of one aircraft came in
contact with the wing of the other while flying above it.
5 comments:
Ouch... Play stupid games, 'win' stupid prizes... like death...
Yep. Another hot dog, showing off for his girl ... and they both should have known better.
+1 Old NFO.
Ditto Old NFO.
WSF, Cathy - yep. He nailed it.
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