Mid-air collision

See also: Aerial ramming

Mid-air collision
Computer-generated image of United Airlines Flight 718 and TWA Flight 2 colliding.

A mid-air collision is an aviation accident in which two or more aircraft come into contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and any subsequent impact on the ground or sea, very severe damage or the total destruction of at least one of the aircraft involved usually results. The chance of surviving a major mid-air collision is virtually zero in the absence of ejector seats and parachutes, as indicated below, although occasionally this rule may be violated (as on 1965 Carmel mid-air collision).

The potential for a mid-air collision is increased by miscommunication, error in navigation, and deviations from flight plans. Albeit a rare occurrence due to the vastness of open space available, collisions often happen near or at airports, due to the large volume of aircraft and closer spacing compared to general flight.

First recorded mid air collision

Contemporary artist's impression of the first mid air collision, 1910

The first recorded collision between air-planes occurred at the 'Milano Circuito Aereo Internazionale' meeting held between 24 September and 3 October 1910 in the city of Milan, Italy. On 3 October Rene Thomas of France in an Antionette monoplane collided with Captain Bertram Dickson of the British army in a Farman biplane by ramming him in the rear. Both pilots survived but Dickson was so badly injured he never flew again.

The first fatal collision occured in Douai, France on 19 June 1912. Captain Marcel Dubois and Lieutenant Albert Peignan of the French Army crashed into one another, killing both pilots.

Efforts to prevent military/civilian collisions in the United States

There are many types and causes of mid-air collisions. On some occasions, military aircraft conducting training flights inadvertently collide with civilian aircraft. Before 1958, civilian air traffic controllers guiding civilian flights and military controllers guiding military aircraft were both unaware of the other's aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

The 1958 collision between United Airlines Flight 736 and a fighter jet, as well as another U.S. military/civilian crash one month later involving Capital Airlines Flight 300, hastened the signing of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 into law. The act created the Federal Aviation Agency (later renamed the Federal Aviation Administration), and provided unified control of airspace for both civil and military flights.

In 2005, as part of an effort to reduce such military/civilian mid-air collisions in U.S. airspace, the Air National Guard Flight Safety Division, led by Lt Col Edward Vaughan, used the Disruptive Solutions Process to create the See and Avoid web portal. In late 2006, the U.S. Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) recognized and funded the site as its official civil/military midair collision prevention website, with participation by all the services.^{[citation needed]}

List of notable civilian mid-air collisions

Date		Fatalities	Survivors	Flights involved	Phase of flight	Site
1922	Apr 7	7	0	CGEA Farman F.60 / Daimler Hire Ltd. de Havilland DH.18A	Cruise	Picardie, France,
1938	Aug 24	45		Two Japanese aircraft	?	Ōmori, Tokyo, Japan
1942	Oct 23	12	2	American Airlines Flight 28 / US Army B-34 flight	Ascent/descent	Chino Canyon, California, U.S.
1945	Jul 12	2	24	Eastern Airlines Flight 45 / U.S. Army Air Force A-26 Invader	Descent	Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
1948	April 5	15	0	British European Airways Vickers VC.1 Viking / Soviet Air Force Flight	Approach	RAF Gatow, Berlin, Germany.
1948	Jul 4	39	0	Scandinavian Airlines System DC-6 / RAF Avro York	Descent	Northwood, London UK.
1949	Feb 19	14	0	BEA Douglas Dakota / RAF Avro Anson	Cruise	Exhall, U.K.
1949	Nov 1	55	1	Eastern Air Lines 537 / Lockheed P-38 test flight	Approach	Washington, D.C., U.S.
1951	Apr 25	43	0	Cubana de Aviación 493 / US Navy flight	Cruise/climb	Key West, Florida, U.S.
1952	Jun 28	2	60	American Airlines Flight 910 / private Temco Swift	Approach	Dallas, Texas, USA
1955	Jan 12	15	0	TWA flight / Private flight	Climb	Boone County, Kentucky, U.S.
1956	Jun 30	128	0	UA Flight 718 / TWA Flight 2	Cruise	Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S.
1958	Apr 21	49	0	United Airlines Flight 736 / USAF F-100 Super Sabre	Cruise	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
1958	May 20	13	1	Capital Airlines Flight 300 / Air National Guard flight	Descent	Brunswick, Maryland, U.S.
1958	May 20	31	1	British European Airways Flight 142 / Italian Air Force F-86 Sabre flight	Descent	Near Anzio, Italy
1960	Dec 16	134	0	UA Flight 826 / TWA Flight 266	Descent	New York City, New York, U.S.
1965	Dec 4	4	158	TWA Flight 42 / Eastern Airlines Flight 853	Descent	Carmel, New York, U.S.
1967	Mar 9	26	0	TWA Flight 553 / Private flight	Descent	Urbana, Ohio, U.S.
1967	Jul 19	82	0	Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 / Lanseair Inc. flight	Climb/descent	Hendersonville, North Carolina, U.S.
1969	Sep 9	82	0	Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 / Private flight	Descent	Fairland, Indiana, U.S.
1971	Jul 30	162	1	ANA Flight 58 / JASDF flight	Cruise	near Shizukuishi, Japan
1973	Mar 5	68	108	Spanish Airlines DC9  / Convair 990	Cruise	near Nantes, France
1975	Jan 9	14	0	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 / Private flight	Climb	near Whittier, California, USA
1976	Jun 6	50	1	Hughes Airwest Flight 706 / US Marines flight	Climb	San Gabriel Mountains, California
1976	Sep 9	64	0	Aeroflot Flight 31 / Aeroflot Flight 7957	Cruise	near Anapa, Ruissa
1976	Sep 10	176	0	BA Flight 476 / Inex-Adria Flight 550	Cruise	near Zagreb, Croatia
1978	Sep 25	144	0	PSA Flight 182 / Private flight	Descent	San Diego, California, U.S.
1979	Aug 11	178	0	Aeroflot 65816 / Aeroflot 65735	Cruise	Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine
1981	Aug 24	37	1	Aeroflot Flight 811 / military aircraft	Cruise	Zavitinsk, Russia
1985	May 3	94	0	Aeroflot Flight SSSR-65856  / Soviet Air Force Antonov An-26	Descent	Zolochev, Ukraine
1986	Jun 18	25	0	Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6  / Private helicopter flight	Low level	Grand Canyon, U.S
1986	Aug 31	82	0	Aeroméxico Flight 498 / Private flight	Descent/climb	Cerritos, California, U.S.
1990	Apr 9	2	7	ASA Flight 2254 / Private flight	Climb/descent	Gadsden, Alabama, U.S.
1992	Dec 22	159	0	Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 / Libyan Air Force MiG-23 Flight	Approach	Tripoli, Libya
1993	Nov 26	4	0	NZ Police Eagle  / NZ Police traffic patrol	Low level	Auckland, New Zealand
1996	Nov 12	349	0	Saudi Airlines Flight 763 / Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907	Climb/descent	Charkhi Dadri, India
1997	Jun 25	0	?	Mir / Progress M-34	Orbit	Outer space
2002	Jul 1	71	0	Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 / DHL Flight 611	Cruise	Überlingen, Germany
2006	Sep 29	154	7	Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 / ExcelAire flight	Cruise	Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
2007	Jul 27	4	0	KNXV-TV news helicopter / KTVK news helicopter	Low level	Phoenix, Arizona
2009	Feb 10	0	0	Kosmos-2251 / Iridium 33	Orbit	Outer space
2009	Aug 8	9	0	Piper PA-32 / Eurocopter AS350 Tour Helicopter	Low level	Hudson River, New York.

List of notable military mid-air collisions

XB-70 62-0207 following the mid-air collision on 8 June 1966.

Date		Fatalities	Survivors	Aircraft involved	Site
1940	Sep 29	0	4	Two Avro Ansons of the RAAF	Brocklesby, New South Wales, Australia
1952	Apr 4	15	0	USAF C-47 Skytrain / USAF C-124 Globemaster II	Mobile, Alabama, USA
1953	May 15	3	4	Two USAF C-119 Flying Boxcars / USAF F-84 Thunderjet	near Weinheim, Germany
1953	Jan 15	26	0	RAF Vickers Valetta / RAF Avro Lancaster	Mediterranean Sea near Sicily
1955	Aug 11	66	0	Two USAF C-119 Flying Boxcars	near Stuttgart, Germany
1958	Feb 5	0	4	USAF B-47 Stratojet / USAF F-86 Sabre	Tybee Island, Georgia
1958	Mar 27	18	0	USAF C-119 Flying Boxcar / USAF C-124 Globemaster II	Bridgeport, Texas, USA
1965	Jun 15	18	0	Two U.S. Army UH-1D Iroquoises	Fort Benning, Georgia, USA
1966	Jan 17	7	4	USAF B-52G Stratofortress / USAF KC-135 Stratotanker	Mediterranean Sea near Palomares, Almería
1966	Jun 8	2	1	XB-70 Valkyrie prototype / F-104 Starfighter	near Barstow, California, USA
1983	May 1	0	3	Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle / A-4 Skyhawk	Negev, Israel
1985	Jul 5	1	0	Two A-4F Skyhawk aircraft of the Blue Angels	Niagara Falls, USA
1988	Aug 28	75	0	Three Aermacchi MB-339PAN aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori	Ramstein Air Base, Germany
1989	Sep 3	1	1	Two Canadair CT-114 Tutor Snowbirds during the Canadian International Air Show	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1994	Mar 23	24	7	F-16 Fighting Falcon / C-130 Hercules	Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, USA
1996	June 12	18	10	Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters of the Australian SAS	Townsville, Australia
1996	June 19	6	8	Two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters	Fort Campbell, Kentucky
1997	Feb 4	73	0	Two IAF Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters	She'ar Yashuv, Israel
1997	Sep 13	33	0	Luftwaffe Tu-154 / USAF C-141	Namibia, Africa
2001	Apr 1	1	24	USN Lockheed EP-3E / PLAN Shenyang J-8II	South China Sea near Hainan Island, PRC
2002	Nov 6	1	1	Two MiG-29s of the Slovak Air Force	near Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia
2007	Sep 1	2	0	Two Zlin Z-526Fs of the AZL Żelazny	Near Radom, Poland
2009	Feb 11	4	0	Two Grob Tutors of the RAF	Porthcawl, Wales
2009	Aug 16	1	1	Two Sukhoi Su-27s of the Russian Knights	Moscow, Russia
2009	Oct 30	9	0	USCG C-130 / USMC Cobra Helicopter	Off the coast of California, U.S.A

See also

• Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B)
• Disruptive Solutions Process
• Near miss (safety)
• Portable Collision Avoidance System (PCAS)
• Traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS)

External links

• Analysis of Mid-Air Collisions, One of the most hazardous consequences of a loss of separation between aircraft, including as a result of a level bust, is a mid-air collision SKYbrary
• Indepth Backgrounder: Mid-air collision, CBC
• SeeAndAvoid, DoD Civil-Military Midair Collision Prevention Portal
• Interactive Web Site Helps Pilots ‘See and Avoid’ Midair Collisions, DefenseLink Press Release
• Low Altitude Military Aircraft Deconfliction Webtool