The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released a new video in its Early Analysis series providing an initial examination of a tragic accident that happened July 17, 2022, when a Piper PA-46 Malibu and a Cessna 172 Skyhawk collided during landing at North Las Vegas Airport in Nevada.
Each aircraft had two persons on board and all four were killed in the collision.
The Cessna had taken off from Runway 30L entering a right pattern for Runway 30R. The Malibu was cleared to overfly the airport and land on Runway 30L. The controller issued a second clearance for the Malibu to land on Runway 30L. The two aircraft collided on the extended centerline of Runway 30R.
“In Early Analysis: Midair Collision at North Las Vegas, the AOPA Air Safety Institute wants to help pilots understand what is known about the accident and we look at factors that are likely to be a subject of the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),” said AOPA’s ASI Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden. “This accident appears to be a midair collision as a result of a wrong-surface event.”
“Parallel runways, especially those offset like at North Las Vegas, can be visually confusing,” he continued. “This accident illustrates the importance of situational awareness and conducting a visual check to ensure the final approach is clear of traffic.”
What about the warnings generated by ADS-B…wouldn’t that proximity warning serve to put both pilots on high alert?
The pilot of the Piper Malibu was told to land on 30 L, twice, he landed on 30 R causing the collision. He was not paying attention to what the controller was telling him. End of story..
Just wondering why airtraffic noticing a potential disgression knowing there was two planes landing on the same plateau
Instead of checking the radio call would have radiod the pilots and gave them instructions to be aware
Yes. Since the runway layout is known to be problematic, I also would question why ATC doesn’t stagger arrivals that are not straight-in’s.