Details are still sketchy on a fatal midair collision this morning at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) statement, a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 Mk II collided on the upwind portion of the traffic pattern for Runway 12. The Skyhawk was able to land safely, but the Lancair crashed near the airport’s second Runway 3/21 and burst into flames.
Upwind portion of the traffic pattern?
No control tower means that ALL runways are active and usable and legal.
One aircraft could have been on their downwind portion of their pattern.
Juan Brown has a video of the crash. Both in the pattern. The Lancair caught up to the Cessna on landing, went around but flew into the climbing Cessna.
It’s a very sad crash that could have easily been avoided by the Lancair pilot…
leave the pattern, offset on the go around and keep the Cessna in sight.
It’s pretty wild to watch the ADS-B playback, Juan for some reason omitted speed data from his animations, but the numbers give the picture alone. The ADS-B data indicates that Lancair was flying the pattern at 110-130kts and didn’t get under 100 until he turned final. Open and shut case, the Lancair pilot was hotdogging for no good reason and this never would have happened if he had flown the already occupied pattern at a more sane speed instead of running down a 172 that was doing 100-110kts in the downwind. Plus offsetting your go-around is good practice if there is traffic ahead. If you want to fly the pattern at the cruise speed of most of single engine GA, do it alone, not with other aircraft ahead of you and a passenger beside you.