ERIE — The surviving pilot of a March midair collision over Longmont said that she is trying to move past the fatal crash that killed two men.
“I think I'm getting over it now,” said the pilot Bev Cameron, 72, of Erie.
Cameron, who lives at the Erie Airpark, said she sometimes thinks about the crash as she watches planes lift off and land. After the crash, she said she would sometimes wake up and relive it. She said she asked herself what she could have done differently.
“I couldn't come up with anything,” she said
In the National Transportation Safety Board's final report on the crash, investigators said pilots of both planes failed to keep adequate lookout.
But Cameron insists that she did not see the other plane coming, though she stops short of blaming the other pilot.
“Well, my thought was that I didn't have any way to know and I couldn't have avoided it so, it was just something that I was lucky enough to get through. I can't really place any particular blame,” she said, pausing for a moment. “I don't know. It's been hard.”
Read more here: http://www.timescall.com
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA199A
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Longmont, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/29/2012
Aircraft: CESSNA 172S, registration: N10468
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Minor
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA199B
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Longmont, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/29/2012
Aircraft: CESSNA 180, registration: N9325C
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Minor.
Radar track data depicted the accident airplanes on gradually converging flight paths prior to the accident. Immediately before the collision, the Cessna 172 appeared to be on a north-northeast course in level flight at 7,200 feet mean sea level (msl), and the Cessna 180 was in a gradual climb from 6,800 feet msl to 7,000 feet msl on a north course. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, with reported visibilities at 60 miles. Neither pilot was receiving air traffic control advisories at the time of the collision. The radar track associated with the Cessna 180 indicated that after the collision the airplane entered a 270-degree right turn before proceeding to the west. The Cessna 172 continued northbound, as it entered a descent and impacted the ground.
The pilot of the Cessna 180 airplane stated that she heard a loud bang during cruise flight and the airplane immediately pitched up and rolled into right bank. She subsequently determined that elevator control was limited. The pilot attempted to divert to a local airport, but was unable to land on a runway due to the impaired airplane control. She executed a forced landing to an open area adjacent to the airport. A witness reported that the right horizontal stabilizer of the Cessna 180 appeared to be bent down about 90 degrees at mid-span as the airplane approached for the forced landing. The outboard portion of the right horizontal stabilizer of the Cessna 180 airplane was structurally compromised, which resulted in a nearly complete loss of pitch control. The pilot of the Cessna 180 airplane retained marginal pitch control by varying engine power during the remainder of the flight.
A postaccident examination did not reveal any pre-collision failures or malfunctions associated with either airplane. The examination determined that the left aileron/wing of the Cessna 172 likely contacted the right horizontal stabilizer of the Cessna 180 in flight. The outboard portion of the left wing on the Cessna 172 was structurally compromised, rendering the airplane uncontrollable. Regulations required that each person operating an aircraft maintain vigilance so as to "see and avoid other aircraft."
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The inadequate visual lookout by the pilots of both airplanes, which resulted in a mid-air collision.
No comments:
Post a Comment