Mid-Air Collision - Boulder, Co.

[SkyCoi 0]

Video of a round, perhaps pilot rig, decending following mid-air collision this afternoon near Boulder Municipal Airport. One plane was towing a glider which disconnected when the collision happend. There is a dz located at the airport, but no indication that skydiving operations were involved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/06/boulder-plane-crash-mid-a_n_452319.html
------------------------
MSNBC is reporting that there has been a deadly mid-air plane collision near Boulder, Colorado.

UPDATE 6:08 PM -- LA Times reports 4 dead in the crash:

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, and then seeing one of the aircraft plummet to the ground with a parachute attached. Wreckage was scattered in several locations.
AP has more details from an FAA spokesman:

The Federal Aviation Administration says a plane towing a glider and another aircraft collided in Colorado, killing at least two people.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus says the glider, described as a sail-plane, apparently disconnected after the Saturday afternoon collision and landed safely a short time later.

Fergus says the two small planes crashed.

Witnesses reported smoldering wreckage in at least three areas on the prairie north of Boulder, which sits at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Aquina Rogers, a worker at a storage facility in the area, said she could see a wing in one of the wreckage fields.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Do both tow plane and glider have the ability to drop the tow in normal set ups?

[ficus 0]

The round you see is a Cirrus airframe parachute system.

[eUrNiCc 0]

That is very unlikely a pilot rig as there seems to be a smoldering airplane attached to it. It is most likely a Whole Airframe Parachute system attached to a Cirrus. Cirrus' are fast airplanes that are marketed towards new pilots. If any individual was wearing a bailout rig, it would likely be the pilot of the glider, who was able to release the tow line, avoid the collision and land normally.

An aircraft towing a glider has right of way over everything else as they are not very fast or maneuverable.

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[BobMoore 0]

Quote

Do both tow plane and glider have the ability to drop the tow in normal set ups?

Yes, they do.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."

[BobMoore 0]

Quote

An aircraft towing a glider has right of way over everything else as they are not very fast or maneuverable.

An aircraft towing a glider does not have right of way over a balloon, for the reason you mentioned.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."

[eUrNiCc 0]

^Right, but collisions between aircraft and balloons are extremely uncommon because you'd have to be blind to run into a balloon.

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[bumgangster 0]

How is this skydiving related?

[mpohl 1]

Airplane. Parachute. GET IT!?

Quote

How is this skydiving related?

[leewilcox 0]

Airplane. Parachute. Not skydiving.

Say mods, would one of you move this to some place more appropriate. Thanks.

"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion" - Democritus

[akjmpplt 0]

Quote

T

An aircraft towing a glider has right of way over everything else as they are not very fast or maneuverable.

As with all air vehicles...the guy that isn't looking around is the one to yield to.

SmugMug

[squirrel 0]

Quote

It is most likely a Whole Airframe Parachute system attached to a Cirrus.

Could be any type of small aircraft. I fly a weight shift trike with a B.R.S. (Ballistic Reserve System...a rocket deployed parachute to bring the aircraft down "safely") which under emergency is deployed by a pull handle by the pilot, but, upon collision, i could see how pull cables could be stretch to the point of activation of B.R.S.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[kallend 1,623]

Quote

Quote

It is most likely a Whole Airframe Parachute system attached to a Cirrus.

Could be any type of small aircraft. I fly a weight shift trike with a B.R.S. (Ballistic Reserve System...a rocket deployed parachute to bring the aircraft down "safely") which under emergency is deployed by a pull handle by the pilot, but, upon collision, i could see how pull cables could be stretch to the point of activation of B.R.S.

Apparently it WAS a Cirrus.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi squirrel,

Those canopies are made by Free Flight in Elsinore; the late Gary Douris was the developer.

JerryBaumchen

[JohnMitchell 14]

The parachute obviously worked, so I wonder if it was the collision or the fire that caused their deaths.

Tough way to go. I see way too many pilots that don't really scan for traffic like they should. Most pilots have at least one "close call" story.

[basehoundsam 0]

Unfortunately ..... the pilot of the glider tow was a local Skydiver/Basejumper/Wingsuit Pilot, and friend to a ton of people on this forum.
See you on the other side little buddy ........ We'll all end up there eventually.

Jay Epstein Ramirez
www.adrenalineexploits.com

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

Any info on the other aircraft involved? The one that hit the tow-plane?

[ryoder 1,381]

Quote

Any info on the other aircraft involved? The one that hit the tow-plane?

CIrrus SR20 containing two men;
Both jumped from the burning plane at 500-750'.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14350792

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[kallend 1,623]

Quote

Quote

T

An aircraft towing a glider has right of way over everything else as they are not very fast or maneuverable.

As with all air vehicles...the guy that isn't looking around is the one to yield to.

Usually these days, that's the one with the fanciest "glass cockpit". Those big displays are hypnotic.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Hell of a way to go.

[riddler 0]

Some names are out in the press (not official):

Quote

Joan Pallone of Broomfield, who declined to comment when contacted by The Denver Post, told the Duluth (Minn.) News-Tribune that two of the victims were her brother-in-law, Bob Matthews, and his brother, Mark.

Blue Skies.

Quote

The glider pilot, identified by a family member as Reuben Bakker, touched down at Boulder Municipal Airport about 3 miles southeast of the crash site with his two passengers, a woman and her 11-year-old son.

Thank god for that!

Still looking for the name of the glider pilot.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[Calvin19 0]

hey guys, I saw the whole thing from the ground.

in the towplane a Pawnee PA-25 was my best friend. what a great airplane, we had flown that plane for towing for hundreds of hours. him way more than me, I came before.

don't much care who was in the muppet minivan cirrus. my heart to their families, of course, but they killed my best friend. blindsided him.

Alex flying west towing a glider, the Cirrus came from the north. I was at our paraglide site, the collision happened over head and northeast a mile or tow. I was waiting for him to get off work. he would come meet me to paraglide. saw the explosion, saw the glider fly out of a fireball. they made it back to the airport.


I don't know why I am online. I spent all day with his girlfriend yesterday. i guess i just get comfort from the stupid internet. fuck.

[AviationTD 0]

Sorry for your loss.
Blue sky.


for the pilots out there, please use See and Avoid method when flying since it is truly the last line of defense. Trust me on this since it save my neck few times. Most importantly, KNOW the regulations!

Be mindful of safety.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Sorry for your loss. Was he a DZ.comer?

[JohnMitchell 14]

Quote

Usually these days, that's the one with the fanciest "glass cockpit". Those big displays are hypnotic.

I've flown with too many pilots that pretend to scan for traffic. To really scan for traffic is much more work that just glancing out the window, but it's potentially the most important task a pilot has.

More and more light planes are being equipped with TCAS to help prevent collisions. Not uncommon on even a small SR20. Not a substitute for good piloting, but a good aid.

I'm surprised at how some pilots seem to only spot traffic as it passes 3 o'clock. Lose sight, lose fight, as they say.