Airplanes Collided While Landing And Remained Stuck Together After Collision And Impact With The Ground, Student Pilot Seriously Injured

One person was seriously injured when two Cessna airplanes ... a 172 and a 185 ... collided in mid-air while landing at Talkeetna Airport, Talkeetna, Alaska. However, most of the people involved walked away unscathed, according to the NTSB.

In its preliminary report, the board said that on May 31, 2015, about 1720 Alaska daylight time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 185, N1694M, and tricycle gear equipped Cessna 172, N8525U, were involved in the accident.

The Cessna 185 was registered to and operated by Talkeetna Air Taxi, Inc., Talkeetna, Alaska as a visual flight rules (VFR) on-demand commercial air tour, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 135, when the accident occurred. The commercial pilot and three of the four passengers sustained no injuries, with the fourth passenger sustaining minor injuries.

The Cessna 172 was registered to Artic's Air Academy, LLC and operated by the student pilot as a VFR cross-country flight under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot and sole occupant of the airplane sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area at the time of the accident.

The Cessna 185 departed Talkeetna Airport about 1456 for a non-stop flight seeing tour around Denali National Park, and a VFR flight plan was on file. The Cessna 172 departed Palmer Airport, Palmer, Alaska, about 1625 destined for Talkeetna airport with no flight plan on file.

After the collision, both airplanes remained joined together during and after impact with the ground. The debris field was about 460 feet long with the initial fragments located about 62 feet prior to the runway threshold. The main wreckage came to rest about five feet off of the left side of the runway.

During a preliminary review of FAA Flight Service Station recordings of the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), 123.6, both airplanes can be heard transmitting position reports in relation to the airport traffic pattern.

The closest weather reporting facility is Talkeetna Airport. At 1653, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) at Talkeetna, Alaska, reported in part: wind, 350 at 4 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; sky condition, clear; temperature, 78 degrees F; dewpoint, 39 degrees F; altimeter 29.76 inHG.

A detailed wreckage examination is pending.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov