History of Flight
On March 13, 2019, about 1850 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152 (N48962) and a North American T-28 Trojan (N5440F) were involved in an accident near Compton, California. The T-28 sustained substantial damage; its airline transport pilot was not injured. The Cessna was destroyed; its student pilot was fatally injured and the flight instructor sustained serious injuries. The T-28 was operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight; the Cessna as a Part 91 instructional flight.
Radar data showed the Cessna approaching Compton/Woodley Airport (CPM) from the south-southwest and the T-28 from the north/east. The Cessna instructor stated he and the student were simulating a diversion to CPM. He could not recall details due to his injuries but said the student would have made all radio calls on the common frequency. Radar indicated the Cessna entered the downwind leg at about 950 ft agl, then flew base and final for runway 25 left (25L).
The T-28 pilot stated he was returning from maintenance. Approaching at about 1,000 ft agl, he became concerned due to extreme haze and low, bright sun obscuring forward vision. Initially unable to find CPM, he located an open area he thought was the airport. He overflew the runway from the southeast, then made left descending turns into the left traffic pattern for runway 25. Radar showed the T-28 approached from the east, overflew the airport at 700-750 ft agl, then entered left downwind for runway 25L.
As the T-28 turned from base to final, sun glare through the windscreen worsened, obscuring forward vision. He realized he was between runways 25L and 25R, side-stepped to 25L, and touched down. Seconds later, he saw the Cessna ahead on the runway, applied hard braking, and felt the impact and explosion. The T-28 continued about 1,000 ft before coming to rest off the right side of runway 25L.
Video recordings showed the Cessna touch down on runway 25L and continue its landing roll. The T-28 crossed the threshold about 10 seconds after the Cessna and touched down at about 1850:36. During its landing roll, adjacent to the runway halfway point sign, the T-28 struck the Cessna.
Personnel Information
The 84-year-old T-28 pilot held a third-class special issuance FAA medical certificate with a limitation for glasses for near vision. His most recent exam showed normal color and field of vision, with uncorrected distant vision of 20/30. A November 2017 ophthalmology exam diagnosed age-related cataracts with nuclear and cortical components. He wore eyeglasses with prism correction. An October 2019 exam showed worsening cataracts and distant vision. Review of vision results over 30 years showed gradual decrement with aging, requiring corrective lenses for flying. He used a "Flight Guide" book for airport frequencies; the page for CPM was missing, replaced by a note reading "Pg 34, Aug 2017 Compton a/d removed."
Meteorological Information
Sunset was at 1859:24. At the accident time, the sun's azimuth was 267°, elevation 0.50° above the horizon.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The Cessna came to rest on the north side of runway 25L, about 150 ft west of its left outboard wing. The T-28 was 450 ft further west. Runway marks showed no indications of braking by the T-28 before the collision.
Communications
Neither pilot was in contact with air traffic control, nor required to be. CPM's common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) was not recorded. The Cessna's radio settings were undetermined due to thermal damage. The T-28's Garmin GTR SL40 radio, when powered on after the accident, showed active frequency 125.00 and standby 121.50. CPM CTAF was 123.05. The standby frequency 121.5 MHz is reserved for emergency communications. Investigators noted that when seated in the T-28, the radio frequencies were partially obscured from the pilot's field of vision; an investigator of similar height could only see the bottom half of the displayed frequencies.