Mid Air Collision near KFRG

[crash]

Anybody catch the part with the student on his first solo, that'll be a night he never forgets. Glad everyone was ok, ATC handled it well.  The cessna proabbably didnt respond because of the extreme noise in the cockpit from a busted windshield he probabbaly never even heard the controller.

[KSYR-pjr]

The question that remains, to me, is whether the controller will be faulted for not calling the 152 as traffic to the Saratoga.

It appears to me in preparing this clip that the Piper was not known to the tower controller until the collision.  The clip has the check-in and a "possible traffic" call to the Cessna (which may be the Piper), but I am not able to find the Piper check-in.

I'll go back through the clip one more time to verify before posting.

[eedetail]

Heres what I hear:

22:50 - Cessna 4672M initiates communication with the tower at about 22:50 in the early clip, reports about 1 mile south of (Uninteligable, sounds like some "stack", most likely a local reporting point). Tower directs him to report entering left downwind. Controller did not specify which runway, but information Oscar would have most likely listed 19 as the landing and departing runway. Just interesting that the controller did not specify.
25:02 - Saratoga 43450 initiates comm w/ tower at about 25:02 into the clip. He reports 10 north, with oscar. Tower instructs to report left down wind, Saratoga reads back to report left downwind for 19.
For the Saratoga to get into a left downwind, he would have to make a 180 to the left, to enter left downwind. At my local airport, he'd have been given a straight in instead, but we are pretty slow.
28:30 Tower advises "Cessna 72M, possible traffic off to your 11 o'clock, and 1/2 mile, westbound, 1100"
"72M looking for traffic"
29:21 "republic tower mayday mayday mayday------ says he's 4 or 5 east. 43450 Saratoga"
Tower gives him emergency squawk and clears him for immediate landing.
Tower attempts to get a hold of 72M to no avail. Interesting that he assumed 72M could hear him, but never gave 72M squawk 7700.


Corrected my transcription - changed seneca to saratoga

[KSYR-pjr]

25:02 - Seneca 43450 initiates comm w/ tower at about 25:02 into the clip. He reports 10 north, with oscar. Tower instructs to report left down wind, Seneca reads back to report left downwind for 19.

OK, I'll take your word for it.  That pilot calls with what I suppose is "Seneca" but it also sounds like "Cessna" to me.   The tail ID he then uses is "43450 Oscar."   The controller then replies with "Cessna 450."

EDIT:   Hmmmm, I am still confused.  When the aircraft calls the "mayday" he refers to himself as SARATOGA, not SENECA.

[KSYR-pjr]

I have the edited clip and just attempted to post it to a new thread but received the error "The upload folder is full. Please try a smaller file and/or contact an administrator."

The clip is only about 3.5 Mb, which is below the 5 MB limit here, so there appears to be an issue on the other side of this forum.

I'll send a PM to Dave and then post the clip after it is addressed.

[eedetail]

>>>OK, I'll take your word for it.
Just my opinion based from my tired ears

>>>  That pilot calls with what I suppose is "Seneca" but it also sounds like "Cessna" to me.

Kinda a garbled Saratoga?? There was a Seneca flying too - Seneca 15340, I had to listen a couple times. Similar sounding voice too.

>>>   The tail ID he then uses is "43450 Oscar."   The controller then replies with "Cessna 450."

I took  "43450 oscar" to be an abbreviated "43450 With Information Oscar", and I think the controller did too, since he replied with "43450" Finally, both aircraft may be based at KFRG, so the controller would recognize them.

TimE

[eedetail]

Tower sends Seneca 15340 Up to 1600 while he sorts out the midair.
(He first cleared him to land, then changed his mind.)
TimE

[davolijj]

I'll suggest that foremost in every controller's mind is that their primary responsibility is to separate traffic. The last thing any controller wants to do is to put two airplanes together, and a very close second to that would be to allow two airplanes to come together. The letter of the rules aside, in controlled airspace, I believe all controllers feel that keeping them apart is a responsibility shared between both pilots andthe controller....

As a former tower controller I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence Digger.  Also keep in mind, the only area in which a VFR tower is required to provide separation is on the runway.  Inside the Class D and even in the traffic pattern pilots are required to see and avoid, I don't care if the aircraft is IFR or not (not the case here but in general).  In fact I used to reference this note in the 7110.65 frequently:

2-1-4. OPERATIONAL PRIORITY

Provide air traffic control service to aircraft on a "first come, first served" basis as circumstances permit, except the following:

NOTE-
It is solely the pilot's prerogative to cancel an IFR flight plan. However, a pilot's retention of an IFR flight plan does not afford priority over VFR aircraft. For example, this does not preclude the requirement for the pilot of an arriving IFR aircraft to adjust his/her flight path, as necessary, to enter a traffic pattern in sequence with arriving VFR aircraft.

[Hollis]

Isn't it standard procedure that when the tower gets a possible visual on an approaching NORDO a/c to transmit something like 'aircraft 3 miles South at 400 feet, rock your wings if you read me'?
If no response, then presumably the controller would flash him either a green or red light.
Just curious.

[Anthony Santanastaso]

Hollis, it is my understanding from the clip that the aircraft could not hear the local controller even after several attempts. The plane asked for the use of light gun signals, and in fact mentions receiving a signal to enter the pattern for landing.

[moto400ex]

Wow... bad day for those controllers.  First a midair then a nordo aircraft, within 10 minutes of each other. 

The nordo was the other half of the midair. After the Cessna lands there is a weak call on the radio from him. I would assume his com antenna was broken off in the midair.

The Piper was worried about his gear, the Cessna was leaking fuel. Sounds like the typical high wing below a low wing midair.

Two lucky pilots.

Frank Holbert
www.160knots.com

I was talking about he aircraft not involved in the accident.  I know the cessna involved in the accident could not be heard so yes I guess he technically had no radio.  A little later there was another cessna which could not recieve. 

[KSYR-pjr]

Kinda a garbled Saratoga?? There was a Seneca flying too - Seneca 15340, I had to listen a couple times. Similar sounding voice too.

Sorry, I was thrown off by your mention of a "Seneca" in your first post.  After going back a couple of times I can hear it now.

I took  "43450 oscar" to be an abbreviated "43450 With Information Oscar", and I think the controller did too, since he replied with "43450" Finally, both aircraft may be based at KFRG, so the controller would recognize them.

Yep, makes sense.   Good ears. 

[eedetail]

Sorry, I was thrown off by your mention of a "Seneca" in your first post.  After going back a couple of times I can hear it now.

Goes to show you cant proofread your own posts. I've corrected my transcription, thanks for the correction, G'day!

[SkanknTodd]

Hollis, it is my understanding from the clip that the aircraft could not hear the local controller even after several attempts. The plane asked for the use of light gun signals, and in fact mentions receiving a signal to enter the pattern for landing.

You got it right.  That was me with no radio.  About half way through the flight I realized I couldn't hear anything except static and other weird sounds.  After trying to sort things out, I decided to come back to FRG.  I thought the tower might still be able to hear me, so I transmitted my intentions while squawking 7600.  Since the tower responded immediately with light gun signals, I figured they could hear me and I acknowledged their signals by transmitting (instead of rocking my wings).

Since I couldn't hear the tower, I had not heard about the mid-air.  Luckily, while playing with the radio, I was able to pick up enough from the ATIS to know that they had switched the runway from 19 to 14 (since both accident aircraft were on 19).  It was dark, so I couldn't see the disabled aircraft on 19 and I didn't learn about the mid-air until after I shut down.

[bcradio]

********************************************************************************
**   Report created 10/23/2007   Record 8                                     **
********************************************************************************

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 4672M        Make/Model: C152      Description: 152, A152, Aerobat
  Date: 10/21/2007     Time: 2204

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: Y    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: FARMINGDALE   State: NY   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N4672M, A CESSNA C152 AIRCRAFT, AND N43450, A PIPER PA32 AIRCRAFT, WHILE ON
  DOWNWIND COLLIDED MIDAIR AT 1100 FEET, BOTH AIRCRAFT LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER
  INCIDENT, NO INJURIES REPORTED, THE CESSNA RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND
  THE PIPER RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE, FARMINDALE, NY

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: FARMINGDALE, NY  (EA11)               Entry date: 10/22/2007