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NTSB Identification: NYC08FA054B
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, December 08, 2007 in Parkland, FL
Aircraft: Cessna 152, registration: N24478
Injuries: 2 Fatal. This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On December 8, 2007, at 1454 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-30, N766CC, and a Cessna 152, N24478, were destroyed during a mid-air collision over the Everglades, near Parkland, Florida. The certificated private pilot in the Piper and the certificated student pilot in the Cessna were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The Piper was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan from Ocala International Airport-Jim Taylor Field (OCF), Ocala, Florida, to Pompano Beach Airpark (PMP), Pompano Beach, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The Cessna, which was not operating on a flight plan, departed Palm Beach County Airport (LNA), Lantana, Florida. The local, solo instructional flight was also conducted under 14 CFR Part 91
A preliminary review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control data and voice transmissions revealed no voice communications with the Cessna, and none would have been required. Both airplanes had operating transponders and altitude encoders, with the Piper operating on a discreet transponder code, and the Cessna operating on a standard 1200 code for visual flight rules (VFR) traffic. Prior to the collision, the Piper was headed eastbound and the Cessna was headed southbound.
At 1440, the Piper pilot contacted Miami Approach Control, at 4,000 feet, for the "localizer one five at Pompano."
At 1441, the controller cleared the Piper pilot to descend to 3,000 feet, which the pilot acknowledged, and at 1946, the controller told the pilot to fly heading 090, which the pilot also acknowledged.
At 1448, the controller told the Piper pilot to descend to 2,000 feet, which the pilot acknowledged.
At 1451:49, with the Piper indicating an altitude of 2,000 feet, the controller advised the pilot of VFR traffic, "two o'clock," northbound at 1,700 feet. The pilot did not initially see the other airplane, but after another advisory by the controller, the pilot acknowledged the traffic in sight at 1452:12.
The controller then provided services to pilots of five other airplanes, including an advisory about the Piper to one of them, and responded to another controller's inquiry.
At 1453:35, the controller advised the Piper pilot of "traffic eleven o'clock, two miles, southbound, altitude indicates two thousand two hundred," and the pilot responded, "six charlie charlie searchin' for traffic."
The controller was subsequently in communication with two other airplanes, until 1454:30, when he advised, "six charlie charlie, that traffic's passing left to right two thousand two hundred." Immediately thereafter, there was an unintelligible transmission on the frequency that was cut off.
There were no further transmissions from the Piper. Data indicated that at the time of the last transmission, the Piper was heading 091 degrees at 2,000 feet, and the Cessna was heading 177 degrees at 2,200 feet.
A debris field was located in the Everglades, about 1 mile west of the eastern shore, in the vicinity of 26 degrees, 20.83 minutes north latitude, 80 degrees, 18.92 minutes west longitude. Debris was scattered over several acres, in an area of 6- to 8-foot sawgrass overlying water that varied in depth from 6 inches to an estimated 8 feet.
The most prominent wreckage from the Cessna consisted of the wings, and part of the cabin overhead section. The engine, landing gear, and sections of the flooring and tail were found elsewhere in the debris field. The propeller was not located.
All flight control surfaces from the Cessna were accounted for at the scene.
There was a concave indentation along the leading edge of the right wing, about 9 feet long and 2 feet deep. The right wing strut was cleanly cut through, perpendicular to the plane of the strut, about 3 feet from the upper attach point.
The underside of the left wing exhibited cut marks, and scarring consistent with an impact of the left strut. The inboard 1 foot of the left aileron was displaced upwards about 6 inches.
The empennage was separated from the main cabin area, and the cabin roof, sides, and floor were all separated from each other. The landing gear and floor of the cabin remained attached. The vertical stabilizer was separated from the horizontal stabilizer, which was separated from the empennage.
The instrument panel was missing; however, the engine mixture control was found in the rich position, and the throttle was bent at a mid-travel position.
The orange-colored propeller spinner was crumpled inward, and exhibited some rotational deformation and loss of paint.
The main wreckage of the Piper consisted of both wings, with the right engine attached to the wing and the right propeller attached to the engine. The left engine, and sections of the cabin and tail were found elsewhere in the debris field.
All flight control surfaces from the Piper were accounted for at the scene. The outboard 6-foot section of the left wing was separated from the rest of the wing. Within that section, there was an indentation, about 3 feet from the outboard edge and18 inches in depth, with orange paint transfers. Placement of the Cessna propeller spinner in the indentation revealed matched deformations. Angular measurements between folds in the indentation and the Piper's main wing spar correlated to an impact approximately nose level, and from about 50 degrees to the left of the Piper's centerline.
The cockpit area was destroyed, and the fuselage area aft of the cabin, which had fore and aft scratches on the upper left side, was displaced from left to right and split at the top. The instrument panel was destroyed. The tail section was separated from the aft fuselage. The stabilator remained attached, and the leading edge of the inboard 18 inches, forward of the spar, were displaced downward about 90 degrees. The left side of the vertical stabilator exhibited scratches on the left side, and was bent over to the right at mid-height, about 90 degrees.
The right engine propeller blades exhibited some "S" bending, and were bent aft. The left engine propeller was missing, and not recovered
Except for the cut left strut on the Cessna, there were no definitive propeller slash marks on either airplane.
There were no voice or data recording devices on either airplane.
Weather, reported at Pompano Beach Airpark, about 12 nautical miles to the southeast, at 1453, included scattered clouds at 2,300 feet, and visibility 10 miles.
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