NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On May 11, 2007, approximately 1502 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N high-wing airplane, N6614D, operated by Flying Neutrons Inc., and a Beech V35B low-wing airplane, N1835L, operated by a private pilot, collided in flight over Sharonville, Ohio, approximately two miles north of the Cincinnati-Blue Ash Airport (ISZ), near Blue Ash, Ohio. The Cessna was destroyed following an uncontrolled descent and impact with a tree and terrain near the intersection of Sovereign Drive and Squire Hill Court. The Beech was destroyed following an uncontrolled descent and impact with East Kemper Road, about one-quarter mile west of its intersection with Honeywell Drive. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and dual student aboard the Cessna sustained fatal injuries. The private pilot aboard the Beech sustained fatal injuries. The Cessna was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 on a local instructional flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The Beech was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 on a local personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. The Beech departed ISZ about 1452 and was returning to ISZ. The Cessna departed ISZ about 1500.

The radar screen depictions of the flights were reviewed at the approach control facility for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, near Covington, Kentucky. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar data showed an airplane departing from ISZ about 1452. A pilot representing N1835L requested flight following. The flight following was not available due to controller workload. The radar showed that the airplane was performing maneuvers north of ISZ between 2,600 and 2,900 feet above mean sea level. The radar showed that airplane descending and returning to ISZ. The radar showed another airplane departing ISZ to the north about 1500. The second airplane was climbing. The radar data showed that about 1502, the airplanes' radar returns came together.

A witness in an office building, about one-half mile from the impact, saw both airplanes in flight. An interview with the witness, in part, stated:

I looked out my window right in front of my desk after [a co-worker]

said 'Oh My God.' I then saw the two planes within about 1/2 mile

apart and heading in a direction towards each other but not directly

head on. When the planes were very close, ... both rolled inside

towards each other and that is when the wings clipped each other.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

N6614D

The CFI was an airline transport pilot with a multi-engine land rating and commercial pilot privileges with single engine land airplanes. He held a CFI certificate with airplane single engine and instrument airplane ratings. He held a FAA Second Class medical certificate with a limitation for corrective lenses, dated September 12, 2006. On the application for that medical, he indicated that he had accumulated 4,191 hours of total flight time and 100 hours in the six months prior to the application. That medical certificate indicated that his near, intermediate, and distant vision was corrected to 20/20. His pilot logbook indicated that he had logged a total of 4,241 flight hours of which 2,158.6 hours were logged as a flight instructor. An endorsement showed that he completed a flight review on April 11, 2006.

The dual student was a private pilot with a single engine land rating. He held a FAA Third Class medical certificate, dated July 1, 2004. That medical certificate indicated that his near and distant vision with both eyes was 20/30. The pilot passed his Private Pilot checkride on June 30, 2005. The pilot's logbook indicated that the pilot had a total of 118.9 hours of total flight time and 60.2 hours of total pilot in command time.

N1835L

The pilot was a private pilot with a single engine land and instrument ratings. He held a FAA Third Class medical certificate with a limitation for corrective lenses, dated September 22, 2004. On the application for that medical, he indicated that he had accumulated 1,100 hours of total flight time and 20 hours in the six months prior to the application. That medical certificate indicated that his distant vision with both eyes was 20/30 and his near vision with both eyes was corrected to 20/20.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N6614D

The 1979 Cessna 172N, serial number 17272901, was an externally braced high-wing, propeller-driven, fixed landing gear, semi-monocoque design, four-seat airplane. The airplane was powered by a direct drive, horizontally opposed, carbureted, normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder Lycoming O-360-A4M engine, serial number RL-27815-36A, rated at 160 horsepower at 2,400 rpm, and was driving a fixed-pitch, Sensenich 76EM8514-0-60, with serial number 36980K.

According to the airframe logbook, the airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on June 23, 2006, with an airframe total time of 7,240 hours. The airplane's most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on March 19, 2007, with an airframe total time of 7,502 hours.

N1835L

The 1978 Beech V35B, Bonanza, serial number D-10097, was a low wing, all-metal, single-engine, V-tailed, four-place monoplane, which had retractable tricycle landing gear. The airplane was equipped with a fuel-injected, air-cooled, six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, Continental IO-550-B engine, serial number 281581-R, which was rated at 285 horsepower, and a Hartzell 3-bladed, all-metal, constant-speed propeller. According to the airplane's maintenance records, the last recorded annual inspection was dated April 20, 2007, with an airframe total time of 3,089 hours. Major repair and alteration records showed that the engine installation on the aircraft was approved October 19, 1990, in accordance with supplemental type certificate SA2200SW.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 1453, the recorded weather at the Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field, near Cincinnati, Ohio, was: Wind 300 degrees at 9 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 30 degrees C; dew point 11 degrees C; altimeter 29.94 inches of mercury.

COMMUNICATIONS

The transmissions on the Unicom frequency were recorded and posted on an internet web site. An excerpt from those transmissions follows:

Parties Making Transmissions Abbreviations

Pilot representing Cessna 152, N6389B N6389B

Pilot representing Gieleghem RV-8, N800PB N800PB

Pilot representing Cessna N30F N30F

Pilot representing Beech V35B, N1835L N1835L

Pilot representing Cessna 172N, N6614D N6614D

Pilot representing Piper PA-32-260, N3874W N3874W

Unknown party making transmission Unknown

N1835L ah Blue Ash traffic bonanza one eight three five lima is five miles north of the field we'll be entering left downwind runway six full stop

N6614D Blue Ash traffic Cessna six six one four delta has just departed runway six and now departing on heading three two zero climbing through uh two thousand one hundred we'll be looking for the bonanza on the (unintelligible)

N30F Middletown uh traffic this is Cessna three zero fox turning base for runway zero five

N1835L Blue Ash traffic bonanza three five lima four miles to the field at three thousand feet we'll be entering left downwind runway six

N6389B Dayton Wright Brothers Cessna six three eight nine bravo downwind runway two Dayton Wright Brothers

Unknown (unintelligible communication/sounds)

Unknown (unintelligible)

N3874W Cherokee three eight seven four whisky four to the south inbound for landing uh what runway you preferring today?

N800PB Middletown traffic eight hundred papa bravo downwind for runway nine in the grass full stop

N3874W Blue Ash traffic Cherokee three eight seven four whisky be crossing midfield under a right for a full stop

AIRPORT INFORMATION

The airport elevation at ISZ was 856 feet MSL. ISZ was an uncontrolled airport with one runway, 6/24. Runway 6/24 was 3,499 feet long and 75 feet wide. That runway's surface was composed of asphalt. The airport listed a Unicom frequency of 123.0 megahertz as its common traffic advisory frequency. The airport did not record the Unicom frequency and was not required to.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The wreckage of the Cessna was found in a residential front yard, nose down, next to a tree with its north side branches broken off. The airplane's empennage was crushed forward into the fuselage. The engine was found impacted in terrain. An outboard section of the Cessna's left wing, about six feet in length, was found on the on-ramp to Interstate 275 about one-quarter mile west of Reed Hartman Highway.

The wreckage of the Beech was found nose down on the westbound lanes of East Kemper Road. The airplane's empennage was crushed downward over the fuselage and engine cowl. The propeller was found impacted in the road's blacktop surface.

An on-scene investigation was conducted. The Cessna's flight control cables were traced from the cabin area under the flight controls to each flight control surface. All separations in the flight control cables were consistent with overload. The flap jackscrew extension was consistent with retracted flaps. The propeller exhibited chordwise abrasion. The engine was rotated by hand through 7/8 of a turn. Camshaft and push rod movements were observed when the engine was rotated. Both magnetos sparked at all terminals when the magnetos were rotated by hand. Removed sparkplugs revealed no anomalies. Vegetation around the wings exhibited blight.

The Beech's flight control cables were traced from the cabin area under the flight controls to each flight control surface. All separations were consistent with overload. The flap actuators extension was consistent with retracted flaps. The landing gear actuator position was consistent with the landing gear extended. The propeller exhibited chordwise gouges. A discontinuity in the left wing's leading edge was observed about 43 inches inboard of its tip tank.

No pre-impact anomalies were detected during the examination of either airplane.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy was performed on each pilot by the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.

The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) prepared a Final Forensic Toxicology Accident Report from samples taken at each pilot's autopsy. All the pilots' CAMI reports indicated that their samples sustained putrefaction. The CAMI toxicology report for the student pilot in N6614D was negative for the tests performed. The CAMI toxicology report for the CFI stated:

26 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Muscle

4 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Liver

The CAMI toxicology report for the pilot in N1835L stated:

38 (mg/dL, mg/hg) ETHANOL detected in Muscle

NO ETHANOL detected in Brain

2 (mg/dL, mg/hg) N-BUTANOL detected in Muscle

-Notes:

-The ethanol found in this case is from sources other than ingestion.

...

DIPHENHYDRAMINE detected in Muscle

DIPHENHYDRAMINE detected in Kidney

ADDITIONAL DATA/INFORMATION

An excerpt from 14 CFR Part 91.113 stated:

Right-of-way rules: Except water operations.

...

(b) General. When weather conditions permit, regardless of whether

an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight

rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an

aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft. When a rule of this

section gives another aircraft the right-of-way, the pilot shall give way

to that aircraft and may not pass over, under, or ahead of it unless

well clear.

...

(e) Approaching head-on. When aircraft are approaching each other

head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of each aircraft shall alter course to the

right.

The parties to the investigation included the FAA, Cessna, and Hawker Beechcraft.

The aircraft wreckage was released to a representative of the insurance company.

NTSB Probable Cause

The inadequate visual lookout of the pilots in both airplanes, and their failure to maintain clearance from each other's airplane.