Accident Overview
A midair collision occurred between an Aero Commander 560E, registration N3827C (27C), and a Cessna 182Q, registration N96402 (402), resulting in the destruction of both aircraft and the deaths of all three occupants. The collision took place approximately one mile inside the New York Terminal Control Area (TCA), after which the wreckage impacted the ground about 1,500 feet apart.
Flight Details
The Aero Commander was returning from Blairstown, where it had undergone minor maintenance. The pilot was operating under an IFR flight plan and had been cleared by New York TRACON to proceed at 2,000 feet MSL on a radar vector of 170° for an ILS approach to Teterboro Airport. The aircraft was equipped with an altitude-encoding transponder that was in use. The pilot was advised of numerous targets at his 12 o'clock position.
Concurrently, the Cessna was on a VFR flight from Kupper Airport to Ramapo Airport, with no flight plan and no radio communication with any ATC facility. A direct route between these airports would have intersected the northwest edge of the New York TCA, where positive control existed between 1,800 and 7,000 feet MSL. The Cessna was equipped with a transponder that was operating but lacked altitude-encoding capability. As the aircraft converged, the Cessna was on a northeasterly heading.
Collision and Aftermath
The airplanes collided about one mile inside the TCA. A map found in the Cessna had a line drawn between the airports that intersected the TCA. All three occupants in both aircraft were killed.