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| Date: | Friday 5 April 2002 |
| Time: | 15:05 |
| Type: | Piper PA-16 Clipper |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N5293H |
| MSN: | 16-97 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1949 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3134 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL/KLAL), Lakeland, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Perry-Foley Airport, FL (40J) |
| Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, FL (LAL/KLAL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On April 5, 2002, about 1505 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-16, N5293H, and a Betts RV6A, N3333S, registered to private owners, operating as 14 CFR Part 91 personal flights, collided in flight while landing to runway 27 right at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for either airplane. Both airplanes sustained substantial damage. The private pilot in the PA-16 was seriously injured injuries and the private pilot in the RV6A was fatally injured. The PA-16 flight originated from Perry, Florida, on April 5, 2002, at 1330. The RV6A flight originated from Cross City, Florida, on April 5, 2002, at an undetermined time.
The RV6A and PA-16 pilots were in the traffic pattern for landing to runway 27 right. The controller called the base leg for the RV6A pilot and the pilot was slow to respond to the controller's instructions. The controller called the base leg for the PA-16 pilot. The controller subsequently observed the PA-16 pilot overtaking the RV6A pilot on final and instructed the RV6A pilot to side step to runway 27 left. The RV6A pilot did not respond to the controller's instructions. The controller instructed the PA-16 pilot to keep it up higher, but the PA-16 pilot did not respond to the controller's instructions. The controller observed the nose of the RV6A pitch up violently and both airplanes collided with the ground. Examination of both airplanes revealed the PA-16 left main landing gear collided with the upper surface of the RV6A empennage behind the cabin area and the PA-16 propeller collided with the RV6A cockpit area.
Probable Cause: The failure of PA-16 pilot to maintain a visual lookout and to yield the right-of-way to a lower airplane while on final approach resulting in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident was the failure of both pilot's to adhere to an ATC clearance while landing, and the subsequent in-flight collision of both airplanes with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20020411X00499&key=1
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54480
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 09-Dec-2017 16:05 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Nov-2024 21:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo, ] |
| 28-Nov-2024 21:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Other fatalities, Photo, ] |
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