Collision
At 1544 Eastern Standard Time, a Beech K35 Bonanza, registration N106Q, and a Piper PA-34-200, registration N56670, collided while flying over the vicinity of the Sparta VORTAC. The Bonanza pilot was on a local flight, while the PA-34 was conducting a multi-engine training flight.
Flight Conditions and Pilot Accounts
The student pilot in the PA-34 reported that he was using a hood and believed his aircraft was flying straight and level on a heading of approximately 240 degrees. He did not recall any indication from the instructor pilot (CFI) of an impending collision. After the collision, the CFI took control of the PA-34. The student removed his hood and observed an aircraft to the left front of the left wing in uncontrolled flight. The CFI instructed the student to shut down everything; the student hesitated and then shut down both engines. Subsequently, the PA-34 crash-landed in a wooded area.
The Bonanza crashed in a steep descent and burned. Debris was scattered along the 265-degree radial of the VORTAC and along V-419. There were indications that the left wing tip of N106Q struck, near head-on, the left inboard wing and fuselage of N56670. At the time of the collision, the sun elevation was 15 degrees.
Injuries and Damage
The CFI on the PA-34 was not wearing a shoulder harness and suffocated. The condition of other occupants, if any, was not specified in the source. The Bonanza was destroyed by impact and fire; the PA-34 sustained substantial damage in the crash landing.
Probable Cause
No probable cause was stated in the source.