History of Flight
On March 7, 2023, at 14:00 eastern standard time, a Piper J3C airplane (registration N10510) and a Piper PA-28-161 airplane (registration N9221D) collided in midair in Winter Haven, Florida. Both flights were operating as 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flights. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction in each airplane were fatally injured.
According to the operator of the float-equipped J3C, the airplane was returning to Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base (F57) for a water landing after a local flight. A witness reported that the J3C was on a southerly heading, had just turned west, and appeared lower than the PA-28 just before the collision.
Recorded CTAF transmissions and ADS-B data indicated that the PA-28 departed from Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL) and proceeded to Winter Haven Regional Airport (GIF), where the pilot receiving instruction was performing power-off 180° landing maneuvers to runway 29. The flight school chief pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to practice these maneuvers, as the pilot had been graded unsatisfactory in the previous lesson. The collision occurred during the fourth such maneuver. Shortly after the PA-28 pilot announced a left turn to base leg, the airplanes collided nearly head-on. ADS-B data showed the collision altitude at about 575 ft mean sea level. Surveillance video revealed that neither airplane changed altitude or heading immediately before impact. The PA-28's right wing fractured during the collision, and both airplanes impacted a lake east of the approach end of runway 29 at GIF.
Aircraft Information
The white-and-red Piper PA-28 was a single-engine, low-wing airplane equipped with a rotating beacon, anticollision strobes, navigation lights, and a landing light. The operational status of these lights at the time could not be determined. It received its original airworthiness certificate on December 12, 1988. The airplane was not equipped with an active traffic system interfaced to cockpit instruments, such as ADS-B in, confirmed by postaccident examination which found no compatible avionics. It had ADS-B out and a two-way communications radio.
The yellow Piper J3C was a single-engine, high-wing airplane with an original airworthiness certificate dated July 18, 1956. Postaccident examination found no ADS-B in or out, no two-way radio, and no cockpit traffic display avionics; such equipment was not required.
Wreckage and Impact Information
All major portions of both airplanes were recovered from the lake, except for the right wing and aileron of the PA-28. The PA-28 exhibited impact damage to the forward fuselage and wings; the cabin door was separated forward of hinge attachments. The right wing separated at the root; a 50-inch inboard section with flap attached was recovered, along with a 48-inch flap piece. The outboard portion was not found. The J3C's fuselage and empennage remained intact, but the inboard lower corner of the right float was crushed over a 30-inch span starting 28 inches aft of the bumper, with impact scars along the float. An 87-inch section of the chine and keelson was torn away 52 to 139 inches aft of the bumper, leaving a 6- to 8-inch opening. Bulkheads adjacent to the missing section were displaced aft. Examination of both airframes and engines found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
Additional Information
Title 14 CFR 91.113 requires vigilance to see and avoid other aircraft when weather conditions permit. The FAA's Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) emphasizes that pilots are responsible for seeing and avoiding traffic, especially near airports without control towers, and recommends use of a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge advises effective scanning with short, regular eye movements. Traffic Information Services (TIS) can provide cockpit alerts, but neither aircraft had such a system.
Medical and Pathological Information
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death for all four occupants as multiple blunt force traumatic injuries, manner accidental. Toxicological testing of the PA-28 flight instructor found cetirizine (95 ng/mL in cavity blood, 645 ng/mL in liver), an antihistamine that may cause drowsiness; FAA guidance recommends a 48-hour waiting period. The PA-28 pilot receiving instruction tested positive for ethanol (0.011 g/dL in cavity blood, none in urine) and fexofenadine (non-sedating antihistamine). The J3C flight instructor had no tested-for substances. The J3C pilot receiving instruction had metoprolol (blood/liver) and pravastatin (liver only), both considered non-impairing.
Tests and Research
The NTSB Office of Research and Engineering analyzed surveillance video, estimating the J3C's ground speed at collision at about 46 knots and descent rate 456 ft/min over the last 5 seconds. The PA-28's ADS-B data indicated a ground speed of about 80 knots and descent rate 792 ft/min. The collision occurred at 465 ft above ground level, nearly head-on.