But For The Grace...(Amazing pic of Mid-Air between Baron and Cessna)

No, I think the damage to the aircraft is consistent with a hit from one o'clock (quartering in from the right). That's where the greatest damage was. Notice that the right front seat is totaled, but the left seat, where Gates was flying from, is pretty much intact - which it would have to be for him to stay at the controls for approach and landing.

That said - for an aircraft to come at you from one o'clock and impact means that you, as a pilot, are doing a TERRIBLE job of maintaining visual separation. The guy wasn't on auto, he was in a cruise climb which means hands-on, flying the aircraft and supposedly paying attention to workload - which includes looking for traffic. To be so grossly inattentive to spotting traffic - - -

Now, if this Cessna had hit him from out of visual range, that'd be another thingy. Then, you'd be wondering what th' heck was going on in the Cessna's cockpit.

Michael

When I was studying the picture, and thinking how it could come from 1 o clock, that's what I thought too: That the wheel came from the right rear, and plowed a path out through the front. (at least I think that's what you're saying)

However, I'm not so sure the damage to the interior matches such a conclusion. Notice how the right front seat is flattened back, as if the wheel hit it from the front, going towards the rear. Also, it seems from the picture that pieces of the windshield are inside the cockpit, something that wouldn't be so if the wheel was travelling from the rear towards the front.

I'm just playing detective here. I'm probably wrong on so many levels. After all, I'd like to think the crash investigators already thought of these things! LOL

Got this in email a few days ago along with two or three other pictures. The stain on the back of the pilot seat is Mr Gates's blood, so he was indeed a lucky fella. (Not a serious wound; scalp wounds are just bleedy).

The guy in the Cessna, Mr Lazerson -- did you catch his credentials? Just goes to show, there are times that all the skill in the world won't help you. If he had been in a Cirrus he might still be alive (of course, if either of them had the SR22 with the traffic integrated in the moving map, there might never have been a mishap).

Not to over-plug Cirrus, after all an SR can't do some stuff you can do with a 180, but a chute on the person or on the plane does give you a chance in some circumstances like this. Then, he could have been killed instantly by the impact... it was just a rotten business all round.

It's unwise to speculate about mishap analysis before all the data is in, but I've seen so many of these, I would predict that NTSB will say: "Failure of both pilots to see and avoid the other a/c. Fundamental limitations of the see and avoid principle were a factor."

As far as the Baron's surviving this major blow to the monocoque -- well, maybe there's a reason that Beech parts are 3x the cost of Cessna or Piper ones.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

To be so grossly inattentive to spotting traffic...

Run it through your head again, Michael, and factor in how the two planes were approaching at a near zero angle-off. Each machine would have had minimum frontal area exposed to the other. Collision was in daylight, though, at 1415 PST.

Here's the NTSB preliminary: 2002 01/24.

Archangelsk, I sent you one of the emails I got with this pic and two others attached. Should get the attention of your junior bird-people. All this thread needs to make it perfect is for someone to note that the decedent was part of an important defence project, and make a conspiracy of this...

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

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