Page 11 - Demo

Jet Journal
On a Swivel
Recently, two aboard a Cessna 150 died when the trainer collided with a Cessna 525 Citation jet on the runway at Marion Municipal Airport in Marion, Indiana.
The C150 was attempting to take off to the southeast on Runway 15 when it struck the tail of the Citation, which had just landed from the north on Runway 22. The tail of the jet was torn off while the C150 crashed and caught fire. Five people were on board the jet and escaped unhurt. The airport, about 50 miles north of Indianapolis, has no control tower and pilots coordinate via CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency).
What are the odds the two airplanes arrived at the intersection of the runways at the precise, simultaneous time? I can’t imagine them doing it on purpose without significant planning and practice, and active communication between airplanes during the attempt. Yet, they did collide. The timing was exactly wrong.
This makes me wonder: since actually arriving at the same
point at the same time is challenging at best when attempted
intentionally, and completely random at any other time, how many
times is more than one airplane using conflicting runway and
traffic pattern space, but a collision does not occur solely because
the timing was not wrong? In other words, how often does the unsafe condition of traffic pattern and runway conflict at non-towered airports occur, but we never hear about it because the aircraft do not collide?
It’s not all or nothing, a collision or five miles of separation. Scary thought, huh? At the same time, every time a pilot holds short or goes around because he or she detects a possible conflict, the system worked. It’s obvious, however, that we need to remain vigilant.
by Thomas P. Turner
June 2018
TWIN & TURBINE • 9