Planes Collide Over Oklahoma; One Pilot Killed

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Feb 16, 2000 - 01:27 PM

Planes Collide Over Oklahoma; One Pilot Killed The Associated Press

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) - Two small planes collided over an eastern Oklahoma airport today, sending one aircraft plummeting to the ground and killing the pilot. The second pilot managed to make a safe landing and escaped without injury, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman John Clabes said.

One plane was descending for a landing at McAlester Regional Airport and the other had just taken off when the two collided about 1,000 feet above the ground, he said.

"One came up under the other," he said.

The collision sheared a wing from the approaching plane, a Cessna 182, and it crashed, Clabes said. The other plane, a Martinaire 633 carrying only the pilot, incurred wing damage.

The pilots' names were not released. Investigators were continuing a search for any other potential victims.

Last week, there were two fatal plane collisions. On Feb. 7, four people died when two planes ran into each other over Los Angeles. The following day, three people were killed in a collision near Chicago, including the city's most popular morning radio host, Bob Collins of WGN.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), February 16, 2000

Answers

Ya know, all these small plane mid-air collisions and near collisions which have skyrocketed since the 1st of the year is so puzzling. Since small plane pilots navigate by VFR/IFR....they do not depend on anything computerized....one has to ask the question...how old are these pilots and how much time have they had in the air? Are these some brand new dot com millionaires getting their kicks in the new toy?

It is just so weird that there has been such a big increase in these incidents, only in the last few months. Any small plane fanatics out there who could shed additional light on the subject?

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), February 16, 2000.


Seems like this month, within the space of one week, a Cessna crashed south of Tampa Bay (Florida), the next day another small plane crashed north of Tampa, and right after that two planes ran into each other on the ground, in our same area. Sorry, I have been too rushed to keep up with it all. But I know it seemed like every day, another plane bit the dust around here.

-- Normally (Oxsys@aol.com), February 16, 2000.

There is information about all incidents and accidents by month at the following web site:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Aviation/months.htm

It shows that there were 117 accidents and incidents for January 1999. For January 2000, there were 100 accidents and incidents.

It's easy to suspect that you're seeing more accidents now since they are being posted here. It's unlikely that you would have paid such close attention to these reports in January of last year.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), February 16, 2000.


Thanks Jim. Red Pick up truck syndrome strikes again.

C

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 17, 2000.


Chuck:

Red pickup truck syndrome...I'd forgotten about that since my days in Psychology class :). It is easy to think some unusual number of events are occuring when you're watching for them.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), February 17, 2000.



Take a look at the death tolls for 1999 and 2000 for the months of january... in 1999 there were 38 fatalities in the USA ...in 2000 there were 146 fatlaties in USA ...

But if you take a look at the international stats.... It is weird! 2000 is a record setter!

-- SB Ryan G III (sbrg3@juno.com), February 17, 2000.


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