FlightFollowerCessna 152 and Piper Collide in Midair at Farmingdale, New York
Two aircraft converging on Republic Airport
Just before 6 p.m. on October 21, 2007, two light aircraft were heading into Republic Airport (FRG) at Farmingdale, on Long Island, in clear weather. One was a Piper PA-32R-301, N43450, flown by a commercial pilot with one passenger on a personal flight from Poughkeepsie, New York. The other was a Cessna 152, N4672M, flown by a student pilot on an instructional flight that had started in Groton, Connecticut. Neither aircraft had filed a flight plan.
At about 1,150 feet near the airport, the two aircraft collided. Both were substantially damaged, but both pilots kept control and landed at Republic without further trouble. No one on either aircraft was hurt.
A busy tower and a mistaken identity
The tower was under pressure. The local controller described traffic as busy, with up to eight aircraft at once in the half hour before the collision, and both he and the ground controller were in the middle of handing over to the next shift. The Cessna pilot called in over the Northport stacks, a local landmark, but the controller didn't answer that first call because of the traffic. On the second call, about a mile south of the stacks, the controller told the Cessna to report entering a left downwind.
Shortly afterwards the Piper pilot checked in about ten miles to the north. The controller then saw two VFR targets close together northeast of the field. He assumed that the one heading southwest was a helicopter passing north of the airport, which was common there, and called traffic to the southbound aircraft. He believed he was talking to the Cessna, but that aircraft was actually the Piper. The Cessna pilot acknowledged the traffic call anyway, so neither pilot was warned about the aircraft that was really in their path.
What the pilots could have seen
The Piper's GPS recorded its flight in detail, and the NTSB used that data together with radar to model what each pilot could physically see. The study found the Cessna could first have appeared in the Piper pilot's view about 44 seconds before impact, around 9,500 feet away. The Piper could first have appeared to the Cessna pilot about 48 seconds before impact, from about 10,300 feet. In the two minutes before the collision the Cessna sat 25–35° left of the Piper's nose, while the Piper sat 80–100° right of the Cessna's nose, well off to the side of the Cessna pilot's normal scan.
The NTSB also cited US Navy research showing that a well-trained pilot needs about 12.5 seconds to spot another aircraft, recognise that it is on a collision course, decide what to do and have the aircraft respond.
The official finding
The NTSB found the probable cause was the failure of both pilots to see and avoid each other while manoeuvring in visual conditions. It added that the local controller's failure to correctly identify the conflicting traffic contributed to the accident.
Why this case matters
This collision shows how “see and avoid” can break down even in good weather. Both pilots had more than 40 seconds in which the other aircraft was theoretically visible, but for the Cessna pilot the Piper was far off to the right, where a scan is least likely to catch it. And the one safety net that could have helped, a traffic call from the tower, went to the wrong aircraft because of a reasonable-sounding assumption made during a busy shift change.
From the NTSB record
The download revealed the accident aircraft departed Poughkeepsie, New York, about 1732. The aircraft flew on a relatively steady southeasterly heading toward Long Island, New York while cruising at 3,500 feet GPS altitude. […]
Research and reconstruction
Flight Follower Editorial Team
This reconstruction was researched from official investigation records where they exist, the original air traffic control recording, and contemporary reporting. The aircraft movement, timeline and written account were assembled independently by Flight Follower. Where an investigation is open or no probable cause has been published, the account says so rather than offering one.
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Sources
Accident Facts
- Date
- 21 October 2007
- Time
- 17:53 local
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301 and Cessna 152
- Registrations
- N43450 and N4672M
- Location
- Near Republic Airport, Farmingdale, New York
- Altitude
- About 1,150 ft
- Weather
- Visual meteorological conditions
- Damage
- Substantial damage to both aircraft
- Injuries
- None
Times are shown only where established; otherwise the sequence is chronological.