Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow, C-GLAJ
and
Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer, C-GFCH
St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, 8 nm W
12 May 2012
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-repor ... 2C0053.asp
SUMMARY
The privately-registered Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow (registration C-GLAJ, serial number 28R‑7435312) was approaching St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, on a flight from Nanton, Alberta, with the pilot and 2 passengers on board. A privately-registered Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer amphibian (registration C-GFCH, serial number 786) was en route from Regina to La Ronge, Saskatchewan, with the pilot and 1 passenger on board. At approximately 0841 Central Standard Time, the 2 aircraft collided about 8 nautical miles (nm) west of St. Brieux and fell to the ground at 2 main sites about 0.5 nm apart. Both aircraft, which were being operated in accordance with visual flight rules, were destroyed and there were no survivors. There was no post-crash fire and the emergency locator transmitters did not activate.
...
FINDINGS
Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. Both aircraft arrived at the same point and altitude at the same time, which resulted in a mid-air collision.
2. The converging position of the 2 aircraft relative to each other, coupled with physiological vision limitations, likely rendered visual detection extremely difficult. As a result, the available reaction time was reduced to a point where collision avoidance was not possible.
3. The left ailerons and part of the wings from both aircraft were shorn off in mid-air during the collision. This would have rendered both aircraft uncontrollable, and would have precluded either aircraft from recovering after the collision.
Findings as to risk:
1. Aircraft operating in visual flight rules conditions are at continued risk of collision when the see-and-avoid principle is relied upon as the sole means of collision avoidance.
Other findings:
1. The design and operating features of the collision avoidance systems in the aircraft involved in this occurrence are such that they can inadvertently be set to detection parameters resulting in insufficient warning time to pilots.
