What happened
During the 2002 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a Piper PA-20 was cleared to land on runway 27 at the "orange dot," approximately 1,500 feet from the threshold. Simultaneously, a Cessna 172 was cleared to land on the numbers of the same runway.
As the pilot of the PA-20 initiated the landing flare, he observed the Cessna 172 positioned underneath his aircraft. To avoid a mid-air collision, the pilot executed an abrupt maneuver, pulling up and to the right. The pilot applied full throttle and leveled the nose; however, a strong wind from the left caused the aircraft to roll to the left. Due to insufficient airspeed for effective aileron control, the pilot was unable to reverse the roll. Consequently, the aircraft stalled and spun into the runway from an altitude of approximately 120 feet. The pilot was not injured.
The pilot of the Cessna 172 reported experiencing a strong left crosswind that caused the aircraft to float slightly on the runway before touchdown. This pilot was unaware that an accident had occurred, and neither pilot reported seeing the other aircraft prior to the event.
The investigation
At the time of the accident, winds were recorded from 230 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 22 knots. The airport terminal information service (ATIS) indicated that VFR Oshkosh Arrival, Yellow Flow procedures were in effect. Under these procedures, traffic is instructed to join other traffic over a VFR checkpoint and travel around the northwest side of the airport for runways 18L or 18R.
While the Yellow Flow included specific IFR arrivals from the east and warbirds from the southeast for runway 27, the landings on runway 27 for VFR traffic were not outlined as part of the standard procedure. Air traffic control was managing VFR landings on runway 27 by having traffic extend their base leg for the 18 runways to create a right downwind for runway 27. Neither aircraft involved in the incident was issued go-around procedures by air traffic control.