Lessons Learned In Past Midairs

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The NTSB has determined that in two midair collisions involving GA aircraft, the failure of the pilots to see and avoid was the main cause of the accident. However, in both cases failures of air traffic control were cited as contributing causes. In 2002, three people died when a Mooney and a Beech Duchess collided while on downwind for Runway 24 at Palomar, in Carlsbad, Calif. In August 2005, a Cessna 150 and a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver collided in Renton, Wash. A student and instructor in the 150 were killed. In the two cases, a controller either gave inadequate information or missed a chance to avert the crash, the NTSB said. In the California crash, both pilots were talking to the control tower. In the Washington accident, both aircraft were under the control of a developmental air traffic controller who was being supervised by a certified controller.

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