Cessna 120 accident near North Collins, NY
On September 25, 2016, a Cessna 120 (airplane) was involved in an accident near North Collins, NY. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 25, 2016
- Place
- North Collins, NY
- Aircraft
- Cessna 120 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 42.599°N, 78.892°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160926X05138
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 25, 2016, at 0923 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 120, N3580V, and a Piper PA-28-140, N612FL, collided in midair while in cruise flight over North Collins, New York. The Cessna was destroyed, and the private pilot was fatally injured. The Piper was destroyed, and the private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Both airplanes were registered to and operated by their respective private pilots. Both personal flights were conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plans were filed for the planned flights that both departed Hamburg Airport (4G2), Hamburg, New York, with a planned destination of Saint Mary's Municipal Airport (OYM), Saint Mary's, Pennsylvania. According to witnesses at 4G2, the accident airplanes were the first two of a flight of six that were travelling to OYM for the pilots and passengers to have breakfast together. The group of pilots regularly flew for breakfast on Sundays, weather permitting. The Cessna departed first as it was a slower airplane and required more time to fly to OYM. The Piper departed second. Two witnesses, who lived near the accident site, stated that they observed one airplane climb into another airplane and shear its tail off, followed by both airplanes descending rapidly to the ground. Review of radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that a primary target consistent with the first airplane departed runway 19 at 0917:59 and proceeded southeast. A target with a transponder code of 12
Probable cause
The failure of the second airplane's pilot to see and avoid the first airplane as he was overtaking the first airplane.
More accidents in NY
- Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R, Nov 12, 2001
- Boeing 747-131, Jul 18, 1996
- Bombardier Inc DHC-8-402, Feb 13, 2009
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-40, Apr 12, 2025
- Piper PA-31-350, Dec 15, 1989
Browse: New York · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
