19991222036632A

.19) On December 22, 1999, about 1450 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172P , N96273, and a Cessna 172R, N672DW, were destroyed after they collided during a visual flight rules approach to Fitchburg Municipal Airport (fit), Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and impacted terrain in leominster, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot in the Cessna 172P was fatally injured, and the certificated student pilot in the Cessna 172R was seriously injured. The private pilot had been conducting landings in a left traffic pattern, while the student pilot had been inbound on an instructional solo flight from boire field (ash), nashua, new hampshire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Neither pilot had filed a flight plan for the flights, conducted under 14 CFR part 91. According to several witnesses, the airplanes were on a parallel course during the final approach segment to the airport, when the student pilot's airplane overtook the private pilot's airplane, and struck it on its right side. The two airplanes locked together, then made a slow turn while descending rapidly to the ground. The wreckage site was in the backyard of a private residence, at 42 d egrees, 32.83 minutes north latitude, 71 degrees, 44.81 minutes west longitude. The site was about 2,000 feet from the approach end of runway 32, and about 100 feet tot he right of the extended runway centerline. Several branches from a nearby tree were broken along a path that led to the wreckage, at a descent angle of about 70 degrees. The airplanes were found in an upright position, still locked together, and oriented about a 165-degree magnetic heading. The student pilot's airplane overlapped the private pilot's airplane. The nose sections of the two airplanes were approximately parallel, while the tail sections opened to about a 120-degree angle. The left landing gear strut of the student pilot's airplane was embedded in the right side of the private pilot's airplane, in the fuselage, below the aft-most dge of the rear window. There was a 12-foot gash completely through the right wing of the private pilot's airplane, as measured from the wing root, outward. At the wing root, the gash was about 2 1/2 feet from the wing's leading edge, while at the outboard end, the gash was about 1 foot from the wing's leading edge. All flight control surfaces from both airplanes were present at the accident site. Control continuity was established in both airplanes, with the exception that the cross-over aileron control cable from the private pilot's airplane was separated at a turnbuckle. The other end of the cable exhibited a frayed, broomstraw appearance. Flap jackscrew positions of both airplanes correlated to a 30-degree flap setting. The engine from the private pilot's airplane could not be rotated due to propeller shaft bending. Spark plugs were dark gray in color. One propeller blade was bent forward, while the other exhibited s-bending. The engine from the student pilot's airplane was partially rotated, and crankshaft continuity was established. Spark plugs were light gray in color. The propeller blades exhibited leading edge-aft scraping, and nicks. The private pilot had about 190 hours of flight time, and had flown into the Fitchburg airport 14 times during 1999. The student pilot had about 45 hours of flight time; and was on his second solo, and third flight overall, into Fitchburg. A sun position calculation, utilizing the time of the accident, the latitude and longitude of the accident site, and an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet above mean sea level, indicated that the sun was located about 12 degrees above the horizon, 237 degrees magnetic, from the approx. collision position. (-23)pilot of 672DW was on final approach to Fitchburg airport. He was following N96273 which he did not see. N672DW overtook N96273 from the back, slightly higher and slightly offset to the right. A/c collided and crashed. One fatal injury. One serious injury. (4.)the private pilot was conducting landings in a left traffic pattern to runway 32, and the student pilot was inbound on an instructional solo flight. The student pilot called that he was 4 miles north-northeast of the airport, and shortly thereafter, the private pilot called his downwind leg. The private pilot's airplane completed the downwind leg, then turned onto base, then onto final. On final, the student pilot's airplane overtook it, and then collided with it. The propeller from student pilot's airplane cut through the top of its right wing, and the left strut from the student pilot's airplane impacted its right fuselage. The two airplanes locked together, then made a slow, approximately 160-degree turn while descending rapidly to t he ground, about 2,000 feet from the approach end of runway. The airport did not have an operating control tower, and turns in the traffic pattern were to the left. At the time of the collision, the sun was about 90 degrees to the left of the airplanes, about 12 degrees above the horizon. (-23)pilot of N672DW was on final approach to Fitchburg airport. He was following N96273 which he did not see. N672DW overtook N96273 from the back, slightly higher and slightly offset to the right. Aircraft collided and crashed. One fatal injury. One serious injury.