Four Dead Following Midair Collision Over Corona (CA)

Four Dead Following Midair Collision Over Corona (CA)

www.pe.com

The Federal Aviation Administration said four people died when two small airplanes collided in midair Sunday near Corona Municipal Airport. Three of the victims died in the air and one person died on the ground when hit by falling debris, said Allen Kenitzen, an FAA spokesman.

The National Transportation Safety Board had arrived at the crash scene late Sunday and had taken over the investigation. None of the victims had been identified late Sunday, authorities said.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
edition.cnn.com
abclocal.go.com

This is puzzling, I have heard of private planes crashing on their own a few times and some military planes clipping each other but two private planes colliding over a California suburb seems very strange to me.

Is this common and I haven't noticed or is there a BIG problem with the ATC's?

I recently saw a near miss report from New Jersey where on of the interviewees was discussing the overtasking of the ATC's and that some airports were playing with the rules to avoid delay times.

What gives?


www.pe.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by JacKatMtn


It is rather strange.

I don't think I've ever heard of two small planes colliding and causing them both to crash.

I could understand a clipping incident where a wing is ruptured, but I can't imagine this sort of thing happening.

Its a very sad and tragic story. The link mentioned how one person survived the crash, but died when debris fell on them.

I'll be praying for the victims and their families.

reply to post by biggie smalls


They said that three died in the air and one was killed in a vehicle after being hit by the debris, I could be wrong about the ATC since this is private aircraft, I don't know if they are under the same scrutiny as commercial flights to be honest, it could have just been a terrible accident.

We might have to wait until the names of the victims are announced to see if something shady was going on.

Terrible situation.

The Corona airport "does not have a staffed control tower."

Kenitzer did not immediately know where either plane was headed or whether there were any distress calls.

The Corona airport does not have a staffed control tower, he said.

Source | The Associated Press

reply to post by goosdawg


Thanks for the update

I am still mystified how this could have happened, but I don't know the weather conditions etc. which could have contributed to this unfortunate accident, I guess we will have to wait until the NTSB completes their investigation.

Jack,

Thanks for correcting me. I must have read the report wrong. That's pretty terrible to have a plane fall on you.

I remember reading that one of the planes disintegrated and the other was merely damaged from the crash.

I wonder what would cause one plane to vaporize and the other to fall to the ground? Very interesting...

reply to post by JacKatMtn


It was nice out today and conditions were suitable for flying under VFR:

Visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft in weather conditions sufficient to allow the pilot, by visual reference to the environment outside the cockpit, to control the aircraft's attitude, navigate, and maintain safe separation from obstacles such as terrain, buildings, and other aircraft.

The essential collision safety principle guiding the VFR pilot is "see and avoid." Pilots flying under VFR assume responsibility for their separation from all other aircraft and are generally not assigned routes or altitudes by air traffic control.

Source | Wikipedia | Visual Flight Rules

It's difficult to believe that both pilots were inattentive, but I suppose it's possible.

Fortunately there was no fire and they fell where they did or more could have been hurt.

This happened right next to a very busy section of freeway and adjacent to some big subdivisions.

reply to post by JacKatMtn


There are many, many examples of mid-airs over the last several decades. An instructor and his student impacted a commuter Twin Otter over an LA suburb back in the seventies...a Cessna 172 'clipped' the wing of a PSA B727 over San Diego...just two examples I am familiar with, since I lived and was a flight instructor then in So Cal. In fact, I personally knew a renter at the FBO where I worked who was descending out of the 'VFR Corridor' that was in place over LAX, as he was intending to land at SMO (Santa Monica) airport. The Hughes Aircraft Company had a runway just south of SMO, just north of LAX. The pilot I knew was in a Beech F33, and collided with a Turbo Aero Commander (like Bob Hoover used to fly, but with turbine engines) that was landing at Hughes Field. Both airplanes down, two fatalities

Death Toll Now Five

Here are two articles updating the horrible midair collision of two cessna planes which killed four in the planes and one who was hit by falling debris.

Corona plane crash toll rises to five

CORONA - The number of peopkle killed in Sunday's collision between two small planes has reached five, according to investigators.

Investigators Comb Auto Dealership Following Midair Collision

Investigators intend to check rooftops Monday as part of the effort to determine if there were other victims of the midair collision over Corona of two small planes that killed at least five people, authorities said.

Meanwhile, piecing together exactly what happened before the two Cessna aircraft collided poses a challenge for investigators, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregor.

The report on this from my homepage and the local news (I live near Corona) says there were five fatalities, two in each plane and one on the ground, as the wreckage fell on used car dealerships.

Investigators picked through the gnarled wreckage Monday of two small planes that collided about a mile from an airport, killing five and raining debris and bodies down on car dealership parking lots.

Two people were killed from each plane, and a fifth was killed inside a Chevy dealership hit by wreckage, said Wayne Pollack of the National Transportation Safety Board.

"There were bodies falling out of the sky," eyewitness Hector Hernandez told KCBS-TV. "One of them crashed into the top of a Ford Mustang, and another one fell not too far behind that one on the parking lot."

That would be horrible to witness a body falling from the sky and hitting a parked car like that. I can't imagine seeing something like that. Pretty traumatic for everybody involved.

Oh, I see you have the updated story already.

[edit on 21-1-2008 by Icarus Rising]

Here is an update on the accident, could the afternoon sun have played a role in the collision?

Sun is a suspect in plane crash

Federal investigators are trying to determine how the pilots of two small planes failed to see each other before colliding over Corona on a clear Sunday afternoon, leaving five dead and showering wreckage over a busy auto mall.

Veteran pilots said the skies above Corona and the Inland Empire are typically congested on weekends, often with student pilots and instructors, and the local airport has no air traffic control tower -- meaning those in the sky must be vigilant and look out for other airplanes.