Small aircraft lands on top of another in Texas
[edit: Roanoake TEXAS, not Virginia. - GM]
I guess a couple of pilots got their messages mixed up in Roanoake, TX yesterday when they were figuring out who had runway privileges. Each thought that the runway was his domain and just as the inbound aircraft was about to touch down the outbound plane pulled under it. The move was timed so perfectly that the first aircraft landed right on top of the other, lodging its propeller into the lower fuselage and coming to a halt directly on the other roof.
Amazingly, nobody was injured, but I'm willing to bet there a couple of seriously embarrassed private pilots in Virginia tonight. Check out video of the accident below.
I guess a couple of pilots got their messages mixed up in Roanoake, TX yesterday when they were figuring out who had runway privileges. Each thought that the runway was his domain and just as the inbound aircraft was about to touch down the outbound plane pulled under it. The move was timed so perfectly that the first aircraft landed right on top of the other, lodging its propeller into the lower fuselage and coming to a halt directly on the other roof.
Amazingly, nobody was injured, but I'm willing to bet there a couple of seriously embarrassed private pilots in Virginia tonight. Check out video of the accident below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
May 16th 2008 @ 2:20PM
Aaron Bailey said...
Virginia as the post states or Texas as MSNBC states?
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May 16th 2008 @ 3:37PM
james said...
Texas, just east of Flower Mound and Lewisville area. I live about 20 miles from that strip and have a friend who's about to take flight training there. It's a small, untowered facility near Texas Motor Speedway. (note to self: remind friend to ask those pilots who their instructor was)
May 18th 2008 @ 8:50PM
Gary said...
You are right. It was in Texas about 3 miles from my house between Denton and Ft. Worth.
May 16th 2008 @ 10:14PM
nzm said...
There'll be only one embarrassed pilot - the other one got it right.
But they can both count themselves as lucky!
Reply
May 18th 2008 @ 8:07PM
John Stow said...
They are very lucky, but this should never happen. Both of those pilots should be grounded until a full investigation is performed to se what happened. It really is scary because where I live planes fly overhead all the time and I worry one will end up crashing into my house someday.
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May 18th 2008 @ 8:19PM
leith said...
ROANOAKE,VA wrong. ROANOKE. Video from TX? maybe yo may try to get the facts straight.
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May 18th 2008 @ 8:38PM
Emily said...
Whoops! They're lucky no one was hurt.
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May 18th 2008 @ 8:47PM
Dan said...
I sure hope this isn't another of those pilots who insists he doesn't need to know how to land the plane!
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May 18th 2008 @ 8:49PM
blljns said...
As a pilot, I can tell you the landing aircraft has right of way. However, note the plane on the bottom is a high wing plane (can't see well above him) and the plane on top is a low wing plane (can't see well below him). Thankfully it was a ground collission and not a mid-air.
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May 18th 2008 @ 8:59PM
Frank777 said...
I've been flying for 30 years and yes, this does happen every now and then. I almost landed atop another small plane at a little strip over in Georgia. I was on final when suddenly the other plane popped up right in front of me. I made a 360, cursing him every breath. When I landed, he was gone.
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May 18th 2008 @ 9:01PM
Rhonda said...
Good grief,, I would be embarrassed too.. didnt ya see that RED thing on the ground in front of ya!!??
LOL
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May 18th 2008 @ 10:48PM
Paul said...
At birth, I came without any wings attached.
Then I passengered a lot for career and once for a personsal emergency, but never cared for the air type of risk.
Yes, I believe ground trips are riskier than air, but my mind can't get the risks into ascending order.
I may wonder what the pilot is doing, but it is a lot harder to spy on the pilot than to watch myself in a car mirror.
May 18th 2008 @ 9:13PM
Smarter than you said...
Hey Grant Martin, WTF!!! Check your facts before writing. Last time I looked Virginia is quite a long distance from Texas. Next time you see Roanoke, yes the correct spelling of it unlike yours check the state as well. Yes you are correct, there are some seriously embarassed pilots in Virginia. They are embarassed that someone actually hired a geography challenged idiot to write this story!!! By the way, may I suggest you do not try to get on "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" it would be a waste of time.
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May 18th 2008 @ 9:46PM
no, smarter than YOU said...
you may spell correctly, but your grammar sucks!!!!!!
May 18th 2008 @ 9:38PM
Bill said...
God, was Chaney going Hunting with Bush!
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May 18th 2008 @ 9:44PM
Jerome Thomas said...
Yes, the pilots were "lucky." No, they have no reason to be embarrased, but Grant Martin and the air controllers do (if any.) Yes, it was amazing, unusual, exciting, frightening, alarming, perplexing and maybe thrilling (unless your I.Q. is beyond double digits. Then, the story ranks with Paris, Lindsay and Britney. Yawn. Typical Grant Martin peon prose. Blogese.
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May 18th 2008 @ 10:24PM
dtjump said...
What looks like happened was the tail dragger was just starting his take-off roll while the Piper low wing was on short final.
The departing pilot is required to ensure that there are no approaching a/c on final. High wing or low wing is not an issue here. Both pilots should be on the field's radio frequency. Moreover, the departing pilot must ensure that there will be no conflicts. Approaching a/c have priority over departing a/c.
They're lucky they're unhurt, but I can assure you the FAA and the NTSB will rake them over the coals.
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May 18th 2008 @ 10:26PM
J said...
This is in Texas, not in VA. This airport isn't far from Texas Motor Speedway. So much for air traffic control there or pilot's paying attention to one another. This could have been a real tragedy for everyone involved.
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May 19th 2008 @ 3:49PM
Petey said...
It is a non-towered airport, so there is no air traffic control. Pilots are not even required to have a radio to operate out of there. However, the red plane should have looked to make sure there was no one on final before he started his takeoff roll. He is the one at fault, but why the arriving plane didn't see him on the runway is odd. Ideally, they should change this rule and make radio communications mandatory at untowered airports. Each pilot has to announce his position and intentions on the common frequency, but if one guy doesn't have a radio, it doesn't do much good.
May 18th 2008 @ 10:28PM
Rich Patch said...
I think someone has their Roanoke mixed up, i live right next to the runway at Roanoke Va and i havent heard any sirens or things on the news or nothing about this happening, it must be some other Roanoke
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