What happened
On the evening of 26 April 2021, a mid-air collision occurred in the Johannesburg flying training area (FAD 182) involving two Cessna 172M aircraft. The first aircraft, ZS-PXI, departed Lanseria International Aerodrome for a night navigation training exercise. Simultaneously, the second aircraft, ZS-OMN, departed Rand Aerodrome for an instrument rating training flight.
At approximately 17:11Z, the two aircraft collided at an altitude of 6,700 feet near the Golf Alpha Victor (GAV) beacon. The impact resulted in the destruction of both aircraft and caused four fatalities, including two flight instructors and two student pilots. Following the collision, the wreckage crashed near Kaalfontein Farm.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined radar data, flight plans, and communication logs to reconstruct the sequence of events. The investigation established that while the ZS-PXI had filed a flight plan, the ZS-OMN was operating a local training flight without a filed plan.
Investigators also reviewed radio communications, noting that a pilot from another training organization had previously contacted the crew of ZS-PXI to remind them to switch to the designated frequency for the FAD 182 area. However, the investigation found that the aircraft were not communicating on the same frequency at the time of the impact. Radar analysis further revealed that neither aircraft had initiated any evasive maneuvers prior to the collision.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the mid-air collision between ZS-PXI and ZS-OMN while operating within the FAD 182 danger area.
- A significant contributing factor was that ZS-PXI was not utilizing the designated VHF frequency for the training area, rendering its presence unknown to other nearby traffic.
- Because the two aircraft were operating on different frequencies, they were unable to hear each other's intentions, preventing any possibility of maintaining separation through radio contact.
- The lack of any recorded evasive maneuvers suggests that the crews had no visual contact with one another before the collision occurred.