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| Date: | Saturday 19 March 1994 |
| Time: | 13:51 |
| Type: | Interstate S-1B1 |
| Owner/operator: | Alamo Liaison Group |
| Registration: | N46951 |
| MSN: | 168 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | San Antonio, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | 53T |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THREE AIRPLANES, A TAYLORCRAFT (L-2), AN INTERSTATE (L-6), AND A PIPER (J-3) WERE FLYING A PHOTOGRAPHIC FORMATION FLIGHT THAT WAS PLANNED AND BRIEFED. THE BRIEF CALLED FOR THE L-6 TO LEAD THE FLIGHT WITH THE L-2 FLYING IN THE LEFT WING POSITION AND THE J-3 IN RIGHT WING FORMATION WITH ABOUT A TWO WING SPAN SEPARATION. THERE WAS NO PLAN FOR ANY SIGNALS BETWEEN PILOTS. A PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE L-6 WAS TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE J-3, WITH THE CITY IN THE BACKGROUND. THE FORMATION HAD EXECUTED TWO LEFT HAND ORBITS, WITH THE L-2 INSIDE THE TURNS, WHEN THE LEAD AIRPLANE INITIATED ANOTHER LEFT TURN. DURING THAT TURN, THE L-2 COLLIDED WITH THE L-6. THE THIRD AIRPLANE WAS NOT INVOLVED. THE LEFT WING SEPARATED FROM THE L-6 AND THE EMPENNAGE OF THE L-2 WAS DAMAGED. FOLLOWING THE COLLISION BOTH AIRPLANES WENT OUT OF CONTROL AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. CAUSE: THE FAILURE OF THE TAYLORCRAFT PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE CLEARANCE DURING FORMATION FLIGHT. A FACTOR WAS THE OTHER PILOT'S INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PLANNING AND PREPARATION REGARDING INFLIGHT FORMATION PROCEDURES.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001206X00893
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 15-Aug-2011 00:51 | TexasTailwheel | Updated [Departure airport, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:22 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
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