Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 172 near Emmett, ID — 2016-07-17

Final reportWPR16LA146
Sign in to save
Date
2016-07-17
Location
Emmett, ID, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 172
Registration
N8184B
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The failure of both pilots to see and avoid each other during cruise flight, which resulted in a midair collision.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot of a red and white Cessna was conducting a personal local flight. The pilot reported that, about 10 minutes into the flight, the pilot of an unknown aircraft contacted him over the airport's common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and stated "we almost got you." However, the pilot later reported that he had not heard any previous communications from other aircraft in the local area on the CTAF, that he did not observe any aircraft nearby at the time of the radio call, and that he did not feel any sudden movement of the airplane, so he chose to continue the flight. He landed about 40 minutes later at his originating airport. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the rudder, which displayed a lateral tear and a blue paint mark at the trailing edge of the control surface. Although the pilot did not feel any sudden movement of the airplane, the blue paint mark and rudder damage indicates that his airplane's rudder was contacted by another object during the flight. The unknown pilot's statement, "we almost got you," suggests that the unknown pilot also might not have been aware that the two aircraft actually collided; however, this could not be confirmed because the pilot and other aircraft were never identified.

NTSB coding

Related mishaps