A Piper PA-28-140 and a Pitts Special S-1S collided in midair while both airplanes were on final approach to land in Westminster, Maryland.
The Piper was equipped with a two-way radio and the Pitts was not.
Both pilots were flying their airplanes on a visual approach to the same runway.
The Piper entered the traffic pattern on the downwind leg, and the Pitts entered the traffic pattern on the crosswind leg.
According to the Piper pilot, he made radio calls during each leg of the traffic pattern to announce his position, and, after beginning the final approach about 1.5 nautical miles from the runway threshold, he observed the Pitts on the downwind leg.
The Pitts pilot reported that he flew a tighter traffic pattern and that he did not see the Piper.
Witnesses reported that, as the airplanes were on short final, the Pitts converged on the Piper from behind and above. The Pitts’ tailwheel struck the top of the Piper’s fuselage, and the right main landing gear struck the cowling and was subsequently separated by the Piper’s propeller.
After the collision, the Pitts entered a dive and then hit the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and elevator, as well as one serious injury.
The Piper pilot landed the airplane on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage from the collision.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilots failure to see and avoid the other airplane, which resulted in a midair collision while both airplanes were on final approach to land.
NTSB Identification: ERA15LA084A
This December 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Nordo, fast, tight, and reckless. If he’s NORDO, why doesn’t he at least enter the pattern in a standard fashion? Why enter in the crosswind? A 45 to the downwind offers him all kinds of opportunities to discern the current state of he pattern PRIOR to entry. If he can’t get situationally aware from a distance (through a radio) he can do it from above the pattern with a standard entry. Glad he didn’t get hurt too badly but this PITTS driver needs to be re-trained or grounded.
“Yea, that new fangled radio technology…just not sure about it.”
or
“I’ve been flying since before modern radios, eyeglasses and contact lenses were available and will continue to do so. Watch out!”
Any idiot that fly’s an airplane without a two way radio should have his u- know what cut off. If he would of had a two way radio he would of heard the Piper in the pattern. The law says you don’t necessarily have to have a two way radio in your airplane if it left the factory without one, but in today’s airspace, as busy as it is would most definitely require the use of a two way radio. If you think different and say you will continue to fly without a radio you are a damn fool and are going to kill yourself, and any passenger you may have with you, also someone else in another airplane, just plain stupid. Again the little piece of mush between the ears we call brain, has failed us..bad crap..to say the least..
As one of your “idiots”, I have been successfully flying various aircraft NORDO for about 57 years and have about 27,700 hours total time.
I always fly a normal pattern at the correct altitude and am the first to give way to other traffic.
Just because you have a radio does not make you any more safe. Too many pilots talk and don’t listen, some are on the wrong frequency, some radios are inop, or the frequency is too congested.
Get your head out of the cockpit, expect the unexpected. Do a clearing turn in the run-up area before taking the runway.
Also broadcasting your intentions does not allow you to deviate from established procedures unless it is an emergency.
Too many commenters seem set on pointing fingers at the Piper pilot as the cause of this accident. He clearly had the right of way no matter how prejudiced you may be about the length of final he used which was an approximation at best in the report. The Pitts pilot is clearly at fault because he failed to take the extra precaution of ensuring no one was on final when in cut inside the Piper. If you’re going to operate in an uncontrolled traffic pattern without a radio it is incumbent upon you as the pilot to take extra precaution to ensure you don’t run over someone. The Pitts pilot didn’t and paid the price which will no doubt include paying for repairs to the Piper.
The side bar referencing another accident report says “used tail wheel falls off of Pitts”. This must be relevant to the NTSB report of the Pitts tail wheel “…striking the top of the Piper’s fuselage…” I see no other relevant connection. NORDO aircraft really increase the likelihood of midair contacts. It’s true that the Piper didn’t maintain a visual on the Pitts, however the pilot of the Pitts was clueless with regard to any other traffic approaching the pattern or in the pattern that might have transmitted with a radio. There is such a thing as being “too much of a purist” by leaving those new fangled radio things out of the ‘pristine’ cockpit. Sure, there’s no regulation or law that requires a radio, but that’s poor consolation if defective situational awareness results in serious injury, death, or damage to aircraft. According to the NTSB probable cause for the Cherokee, the “other pilot” failed to practice see and avoid, and cut the pattern too short. FWIW, this took place outside of Class C or Class B, so the future 2020 AD/S-B mandate wouldn’t have prevented the collision since the Pitts had a minimalist cockpit.
I always wonder about comments like yours: “NORDO aircraft really increase the likelihood of midair contacts.” Do you have proof of this? Is there any record of a NORDO plane being involved in a midair?
I think you might have better luck finding planes that hit where they both thought they were using the radio, but one was on the wrong frequency. I can think of two where this happened.
The pitts was NORDO, and accoeding tpo several witness statements in the docket for this accident the pilot of that aircraft frequently cut other pilots off in the pattern because of very poor situatiinal awareness of where other aircraft (with radios) were, and what they intended to do.
How is this the Piper pilots fault? He was overtaken and hit from above. I was always taught the lower aircraft had the right away.
A 1-1/2 mile final is about 1 mile longer than necessary for a PA28 unless it is following another airplane. The Pitts is faster than the Piper but flies a closer approach. The Piper pilot saw the Pitts and did not maintain visual contact.
The Piper pilot assumed that all airplanes have radios.
The traffic pattern is always dangerous. even when there is a control tower and all aircraft are in two-way communication.
We are seeing more pilots flying excessively long final legs of 1+ miles at our regional airport, ‘dragging it in’ at 400 ft. It messes up the rest of us who fly 1,200-1,500 abeam on downwind and use a power off approach. We turn final about 1,000 ft from the numbers . It is mainly student pilots, so I fault the instructors for not teaching a standard pattern.
The Piper pilot was mainly at fault for not maintaining visual contact with the Pitts. The Pitts pilot also needed to maintain visual with the Piper.
The Pitts hit the Piper from above and behind…his fault…full stop
Agree, aircraft below on final have the right of way, period.
He was right…dead right…as he sped along
and now he’s as dead as if he’d been dead wrong
You forgot to add “Burma Shave”