Coral Springs, FL, USA
N9840V
Cessna 172M
N6101F
Cessna 172N
The student pilot flying N6101F, a Cessna 172N, said that he and his flight instructor were proceeded southeast bound at an altitude of 2,000 feet toward the "WSBR 740 AM radio tower, and as they approached the "740 tower", suddenly an airplane appeared very close, in the right corner of their airplane's windshield, having come from behind the blind spot created by their airplane's right wing. He said it looked as if the pilot of the other airplane saw them about the same time, and thinks that both he and the other pilot immediately initiated right turns in an attempt to avoid each other. He said that as he initiated the right turn the other airplane appeared to effectively travel across his airplane's wind shield from right to left, remaining just above the glare shield covering his airplane's instrument panel. He said he then felt the impact of his airplane's left wing colliding with some portion of the other airplane, and his airplane "tumbled", and entered a spin to the left. During the spin, he said he saw another airplane about 250 to 300 feet below him, and it appeared to be inverted. The instructor on N6101F confirmed what the student stated and said that he immediately took control of the airplane and made an emergency landing on a dirt road. The other airplane in the collision, N9840V, a Cessna 172M, impacted the ground at a near vertical angle, and was destroyed. Initial examination of N9840V showed that the outboard portion of the right horizontal stabilizer/elevator segment, as well the vertical stabilizer/rudder assembly, had detached from the empennage of N9840V. In addition, examination N9840V's vertical stabilizer/rudder that had detached revealed a scrape/crease, stretching from the leading edge, aft through the length of the stabilizer/rudder assembly. The wing of N6101F also had a scrape mark which originated 49 inches from the root of the left wing outboard, and a gouge/hole then commenced about 6 inches outboard of the scrape mark at station 136, and continued along the undersurface of the wing, aft at an angle of about 53 degrees with respect to the leading edge, to the main spar, terminating at station 172. The missing left elevator counterweight/11- by 7.25-inch section that had been missing from the aft portion of N9840V's elevator had penetrated the wing of N6101F, creating the gouge and wedging itself at station 172 in the wing of N6101F. As the counterweight had traveled through the wing during the collision, the spar and ribs located at stations 154 and 172 had fractured. There was paint transfer on the left side of N9840V's stabilizer/rudder in the area the scrape/gouge consistent with an impact with N6101F, as well as on the outboard leading edge of the left wing on N6101F.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 27, 2002, about 1331 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172M, N9840V, registered to Power Systems LTD, Inc., and operated by American Flying Club Inc. as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, and a Cessna 172N, N6101F, registered to a private individual, and operated by Airborne Systems Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, collided while in cruise flight in Coral Springs, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plans were filed for either flight. N9840V was destroyed, and the private-rated dual student and the commercial-rated flight instructor received fatal injuries. N6101F incurred substantial damage, and the private-rated dual student and the commercial-rated flight instructor received no injuries. Both flights originated from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the same day, with N9840V having departed about 1245, and N6101F, about 1253. According to the dual student on N6101F, he and his flight instructor had been flying in a practice area west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and they had performed "8's on pylons and lazy 8's", as part of the commercial maneuvers training in pursuit of an FAA commercial pilot certificate. The student said he was the pilot flying N6101F, and they were proceeding southeast bound at an altitude of 2,000 feet, on a 120-degree magnetic bearing to the "WSBR 740 AM radio tower." As they neared the "740 tower", he said they were receiving needle fluctuations on N6101F's ADF indicator, indicative of them being very close to the tower, when all of a sudden, an airplane appeared very close, in the right corner of their airplane's windshield, having come from behind the blind spot created by their airplane's right wing. He said it looked as if the pilot of the other airplane saw them about the same time, and thinks that both he and the other pilot immediately initiated right turns in an attempt to avoid the other. The student further stated that as he initiated the right turn, the other airplane appeared to effectively travel across his airplane's windshield from right to left, remaining just above the glare shield covering his airplane's instrument panel. He said that as his instructor yelled "oh", and he simultaneously turned the airplane hard to the right, he noticed an object that was dark on the face of the pilot in the other airplane, but added that he was not sure whether it was a pair of sunglasses or an instrument training view limiting device. He said he then felt the impact of his airplane's left wing colliding with some portion of the other airplane, and his airplane "tumbled", and entered a spin to the left. During the spin, he said he saw another airplane about 250 to 300 feet below him, and it appeared to be inverted. The instructor on N6101F stated that upon seeing the other airplane close aboard, he immediately took control of the airplane from his student, and recovered from the spin. He then made emergency communication transmissions to advise others of the situation, and affected an emergency landing to a dirt road paralleling the then busy Sawgrass Expressway. The other airplane in the collision, N9840V impacted a dirt road in a rock quarry in the vicinity of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, in unincorporated Palm Beach County, and was destroyed on impact. PERSONNEL INFORMATION Records obtained from the airplane operator, as well as the FAA showed that the dual student on N9840V held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating, issued on April 20, 2000. He also held a second class medical certificate issued on October 10, 2001 with no limitations, and had accumulated about 200 hours total flight experience, with about 30 flight hours within the last 90 days. According to information obtained from the owner of American Flying Club, Inc., the dual student and flight instructor on N9840V were on an instrument training flight, in preparation for the dual student's upcoming FAA instrument flight test for the instrument rating, when the accident occurred. The flight instructor on N9840V held a commercial pilot as well as a flight instructor certificate with airplane single engine, airplane multiengine, and instrument ratings. The instructor's commercial pilot certificate was issued on May 30, 2001, and the flight instructor certificate was last issued on July 22, 2002. The flight instructor also possessed an advanced ground instructor certificate. He had accumulated about 1528 hours of total flight experience, with about 270 flight hours in the last 90 days. FAA records showed that the dual student on N6101F held a private pilot certificate with airplane single engine and instrument ratings, issued on July 16, 2002. He also held a third-class medical certificate issued on February 7, 2001, with the stated limitation that he must wear corrective lenses. At the time of the accident he had accumulated about 130 flight hours, with about 11 flight hours having been completed in the last 90 days. The flight instructor on N6101F held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single and multi engine land and instrument ratings, as well as a flight instructor certificate, last issued on July 19, 2002, with airplane single engine land and instrument ratings. He held a first class medical certificate, issued on May 15, 2002, with the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses for near vision, and he had accumulated a total flight time of 519 flight hours, with about 218 flight hours having been flown in the last 90 days. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION N9840V was a 1975 model Cessna 172M, serial number 17264526. The airplane was registered to Power Systems Limited Inc., and was being operated by American Flying Club, Inc. Records obtained from the operator showed that N9840V had received a 100-hour inspection on September 12, 2002, and at that time it had a total flight time of about 13819 hours. The airplane was equipped with a 150 horsepower Lycoming O-320-E2D engine, serial number L40023-27A. The engine was last overhauled on August 14, 2000, at 1820.9 hours. The airplane was equipped with a McCauley propeller, model number 1C160/DTM 7553, serial number 725867. N6101F is a 1980 Cessna 172N, serial number 17273149, and records obtained from the operator showed that at the airplane had received a 100-hour inspection on October 16, 2002, and at the time of the inspection it had accumulated about 6257.0 flight hours. The airplane was equipped with a 150 horsepower Lycoming O-320-H2AD engine, serial number RL-6525-76T. The engine was last overhauled on November 28, 2001, at 4610.0 flight hours, and it was equipped with a McCauley propeller, model number 1C160/DTM 7557, serial number 735235. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) 1353 surface weather observation was, 3,000 feet scattered, visibility 10 statute miles, wind from 110 degrees at 7 knots, temperature 86 degrees F, dew point temperature 70 degrees F, altimeter setting 29.98 inHg. COMMUNICATIONS There were no reported problems with communications on N6101F. According to both pilots onboard, a short time earlier, they had communicated their intentions on frequency 123.45, stating that they were departing the practice area, and was proceeding southeast bound, and their communications had been acknowledged by occupants of the other airplane. Both pilots in N6101F said they heard no other radio communications after they had communicated their intentions on the radio. In addition, immediately after the collision, the flight instructor on board N6101F declared and emergency and his radio communications call was received. The cockpit and instrumentation on N9840V was destroyed and no frequency settings could be obtained from the wreckage. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The wreckage of N9840V impacted the ground in a quarry, in a near vertical nose down attitude, in position 26 degrees, 20.162 minutes north latitude, 080 degrees, 17.475 minutes west longitude, on an azimuth of about 150 degrees magnetic. Preliminary examination of the wreckage revealed that portions of the airplane that was necessary for flight was located in the general vicinity of the main wreckage. The vertical stabilizer/rudder had detached and lay at the rear of the main wreckage, and the propeller had detached at the crankshaft, and it lay at the front. The propeller bolts had fractured, exhibiting the signatures consistent with overstress. One propeller blade had a slight forward bend, with leading edge damage close to the hub, and both blades exhibited mid core abrasions. There was heavy compression damage on the spinner, consistent with a nose-low steep impact angle when it impacted the ground. N9840V had incurred severe in-flight and ground impact damage. The top of the cabin had separated from the floor of the cabin in the area of the doorposts, and the fuselage aft of the main landing gear had remained largely intact, connected by the control cables, with extensive compression damage on both sides. The right wing had separated from the fuselage and had remained attached by the control cables. There was compression wrinkling on the right wing's leading edge, and the associated fuel tank had been breached. The left wing had completely opened up due to impact forces. The damaged horizontal stabilizer/elevator had remained attached by cables and some metal, and had flipped under the area forward of the empennage. The right side of the horizontal stabilizer/elevator segment had the complete elevator and trim tab attached, but the left side was largely complete except for the outboard portion. The left elevator weight/outboard portion of the elevator from N9840V found later to have lodged in the wing of N6101F. N9840V's vertical stabilizer/rudder assembly had detached, and was located about 25 feet aft of the remaining portion of the empennage. The vertical stabilizer/rudder assembly had detached completely from the empennage at its attach point where it normally mates with the horizontal stabilizer/elevator assembly. The horizontal stabilizer had sustained damage, and had flipped under the portion of the empennage immediately forward of it, while remaining partially attached. The rudder control cables with rudder horn, and the bottom rudder fairing remained attached to the lower section of the rudder. Both the vertical stabilizer/rudder had remained attached as an assembly. The left side of the detached vertical stabilizer/rudder had paint transfer marks, and there was a fold/crease on the left side stretching from the leading edge, aft through the length of the stabilizer/rudder assembly. There was control cable continuity from the left aileron down the door post to the forward cockpit, and the balance cable was found connected to both ailerons. The right aileron control cable had separated in the vicinity of the doorpost, and its breakage was consistent with overload. The elevator control cable continuity was verified to the forward cockpit area, where the cable had parted in the general area under the instrument panel. The rudder cables had remained attached to the rudder horn, and the cables then proceeded to the forward cabin area where there was extensive compression damage. The engine on N9840V had incurred extensive impact related damage. The No. 1 cylinder and case had fractured at the No 1. rod journal, and the No 2 cylinder head had separated from the barrel. The push rods were also bent and off the cylinder. The case was cracked between the No. 2 and No. 4 cylinders from the top of the case to the bottom, and most accessories had detached as a result of the impact. N6101F came to rest in position 26 degrees 17.648 minutes north latitude, 080 degrees 17.849 degrees west longitude, on the edge of the dirt road. Tire tracks showed that the landing had been made along a magnetic direction of 186 degrees magnetic and during the landing the airplane had veered to the left, and its left wing had impacted trees causing the airplane to ground loop. The airplane came to rest along a heading of 006 degrees magnetic. After recovery from the place where the emergency landing had been made, a follow-up examination on N6101F was performed. Damage to N6101F included a gouge in the left wing, and there was also damage to the windshield, nose-wheel, propeller spinner, cowl, and some small wrinkles on the left side of the fuselage. There was a scrape mark that originated 49 inches from the root of the left wing and extended outboard. A gouge/hole then commenced about 6 inches outboard of station 136, from about the beginning of the outboard third of the wing. The gouge continued along the undersurface of the wing, traveling aft at an angle of about 53 degrees with respect to the leading edge, aft to the main spar, and terminated at station 172. There was also compression damage to the outboard leading edge and the outboard wing fairing had detached. The left elevator counterweight/11- by 7.25-inch section that had been missing from N9840V's elevator was found wedged in the gouge/hole of the left wing of N6101F. It had wedged itself at station 172 wedged in the rib located at that station in N6101F left wing. The spar and ribs located at stations 154 and 172 were fractured/torn along the area of the gouge/hole that had been made by the left elevator counterweight/attached elevator section, wedged in N6101F left wing. Visual inspection of the paint transfer in the area of the fold/crease on the stabilizer/rudder of N9840V, was consistent with tan color paint from N6101F. There was blue paint transfer on the outboard leading edge of the tan colored wing on N6101F, consistent with the blue paint from the vertical stabilizer/rudder of N9840V. The engine on N6101F was inspected and a test run was performed. The engine performed within parameters and no anomalies were noted. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION Postmortem examination of the dual student on N9840V was performed by the District 15 Medical Examiner's Office, West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 28, 2002. The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt traumatic injuries. No findings which could be considered causal to the accident were reported. Toxicology studies on specimens from the pilot were conducted by Wuesthoff Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Florida, and the FAA Toxicological Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and all tests were negative. Postmortem examination of the flight instructor on N9840V was performed by the District 15 Medical Examiner's Office, West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 28, 2002. The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt traumatic injuries. No findings which could be considered causal to the accident were reported. Toxicology studies on specimens from the flight instructor were conducted by Wuesthoff Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Florida, and the FAA Toxicological Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and all tests were negative. TESTS AND RESEARCH Recorded radar data obtained from the FAA Miami Approach Control showed that N6101F was on a heading of about 114-degrees, at an altitude of about 2,000 feet, when the accident occurred. N9840V had initially proceeded southbound, and a turn had been initiated to the north. At the time of impact, N9840V was on a course of about 000-degrees, at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. The radar data also showed that the collision occurred close to the WSBR 740 AM beacon. The WSBR 740 AM beacon is located in position 26 degrees 20 minutes 6 seconds north latitude, 080 degrees 15 minutes 55 seconds west longitude, and it has an elevation of 330 feet. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Both the wreckages of N9840V and N6101F were released by the NTSB to Mr. Steve Smalley, President, Air and Sea Recovery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on October 30, 2002. No components from either airplane were retained by the NTSB for further testing.
The failure of the dual students and flight instructors on both N9840V and N6101F to see and avoid each other, which resulted in a midair collision.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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