ASN Aircraft accident Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC N442RM San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA (SDM)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Sunday 16 August 2015
Time:11:03
Type:Silhouette image of generic SBR1 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC
Operating for:United States Department of Defense
Leased from:BAE Systems Technology Solution & Services
Registration: N442RM
MSN: 306-73
First flight: 1974
Total airframe hrs:13418
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT12A-8 Turbo Wasp
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Collision casualties:Fatalities: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,6 km (1 mls) NE of San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA (SDM) (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA (SDM/KSDM), United States of America
Destination airport:San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA (SDM/KSDM), United States of America
Flightnumber:Eagle 1
Narrative:
Two airplanes, a Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N1285U, and a Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC, N442RM, collided midair approximately 1 mile northeast of San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), California. The two pilots and two mission specialists aboard the Sabreliner were fatally injured. The pilot of the Cessna, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured.

The Sabreliner was being operated as a public use flight by the U.S. Department of Defense in support of the U.S. Navy. The Cessna was operated by the pilot as a personal flight. Both airplanes were destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at SDM. Both airplanes departed SDM earlier that day and a mission flight plan was on file for the Sabreliner; no flight plan was filed for the Cessna 172.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The local controller's (LC) failure to properly identify the aircraft in the pattern and to ensure control instructions provided to the intended Cessna on downwind were being performed before turning Eagle1 into its path for landing. Contributing to the LC's actions was his incomplete situational awareness when he took over communications from the LC trainee due to the high workload at the time of the accident. Contributing to the accident were the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, resulting in the inability of the pilots involved to take evasive action in time to avert the collision."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 3 months
Accident number: WPR15MA243B
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Mid air collision

Sources:
» NTSB

METAR Weather report:
17:53 UTC / 10:53 local time:
KSDM 161753Z 31006KT 10SM CLR 33/19 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP108 T03280194 10339 20189 57001
Wind 310 degrees at 6 knots; Visibility 10+ miles; Clear sky; Temperature: 33°C; Dew point 19°C


Photos

photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
accident date: 16-08-2015
type: Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC
registration: N442RM
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
accident date: 16-08-2015
type: Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC
registration: N442RM
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
accident date: 16-08-2015
type: Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC
registration: N442RM
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
Calculated flight tracks of Eagle1 and N1285U
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
Illustration of approximate collision of airplanes
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
Illustration of approximate collision of airplanes
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
N442RM
photo of Rockwell-Sabreliner-60SC-N442RM
accident date: 16-08-2015
type: Rockwell Sabreliner 60SC
registration: N442RM
 

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This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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