Incident Overview
A collision occurred between two aircraft during final approach at Santa Paula Airport. The pilot of N6353L was on an extended final approach and had reported as number three to land. After crossing the field boundary, he heard another pilot call "short final" and then observed N3537L. Before he could react, the two aircraft collided.
Pilot Accounts
The pilot of N3537L reported that he was turning final when he felt his aircraft "catch a wire." Following the collision, the pilot of N6353L continued the approach and landed. The pilot of N3537L stated that his aircraft's flight controls became unresponsive, causing the aircraft to nose over and strike the runway. After coming to rest, a fire broke out in N3537L's engine compartment.
Radio Communications
Both aircraft were using the Santa Paula 122.9 CTAF VHF frequency. The pilot of N3537L reported hearing transmissions from other traffic but stated that he did not hear N6353L's radio call. A ground witness monitoring the frequency heard N3537L make several transmissions but did not hear any transmissions from N6353L. Several other aircraft were on the frequency at the time.