FYI:

It will never happen to me..

NTSB Identification: CHI02IA085A

Incident occurred Monday, March 04, 2002 at Springfield, MO
Aircraft: Beech BE-55, registration: N66X
Injuries: 5 Uninjured.

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 March 4, 2002, at 1300 central standard time, a Beech Baron, BE-55, N66X, sustained minor damaged during a mid-air collision with a Piper Archer, PA-28-181, N9272L, 20 miles southeast of Springfield, Missouri. The Archer also received minor damage. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and commercial dual student pilot and two passengers who were on board the Baron reported no injuries. The commercial pilot flying the Archer was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight originated from Mountain Home (BPK), Arkansas, en route to Lee's Summit (LXT), Missouri. The Archer that was on a 14 CFR Part 91 repositioning flight, had also departed BPK en route to LXT. The Archer departed at 1145 and the Baron departed later, exact time unknown. The airplanes were not flying a formation flight. Both airplanes were flying at 6,500 feet msl on an approximate heading of 330 degrees. The Baron overtook the Archer. When the CFI in the Baron saw the Archer, he pushed the yoke forward and did an under run of the Archer. The vertical stabilizer of the Baron struck the left main landing gear of the Archer. After the incident, the Baron made a precautionary landing at Springfield (SGF), Missouri, and the Archer continued en route and landed uneventfully at LXT. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and neither airplane was on a flight plan.

Editor’s Note:
This is so typical. There are two airplanes, five people, clear day, VFR weather, ten eyes and the Baron with eight eyes overtakes and clips an Archer. Hard to believe. Where were the people looking? Judging from the choice of the CFI to go under the Archer they were overtaking, would indicate that the Baron was coming in a bit under the Archer. Even more reason to ask, WHY DIDN’T YOU SEE IT? It is understandable that planes may get close before one sees the other plane. To clip a plane, means they got EXTREMELY close before the evasive maneuver was taken. It is easy to get out of the habit of scanning for other in the air with you. A lesson to learn and remember… LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW, ALL THE TIME (unless your flying on instruments in IFR conditions).

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Nap time?

NTSB Identification: FTW02LA081

Accident occurred Monday, February 18, 2002 at Pond Creek, OK
Aircraft: Cessna 177, registration: N3402T
Injuries: 1 Serious.

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 February 18, 2002, at 1330 Central Standard Time, a Cessna 177 airplane, N3402T, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Pond Creek, Oklahoma. The airplane was registered to and operated by Eagle Sky Patrol, of Lead, South Dakota. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 pipeline patrol flight. The flight originated from the Pratt Industrial Airport, Pratt, Kansas, at 1155, and its destination was the Captain Jack Thomas/El Dorado Airport, El Dorado, Kansas.

In a telephone interview conducted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that while on a pipeline control flight at 300 feet agl, he momentarily "dozed off." "The next thing I knew, the airplane had impacted the ground in a shallow nose down attitude and was sliding across the ground, eventually coming to rest upright in a wheat field, having slid a total of 240 feet."

An examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the nose landing gear had been sheared off, the left main landing gear had separated, impacting the left horizontal stabilizer, the firewall was substantially damaged, and left wing root area was buckled.