2021 Centennial Airport mid-air collision

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2021 Centennial Airport mid-air collision
Key Lime Air Flight 970 ·BB CO LLC N416DJ
Mid-air collision
Date12 May 2021 (12 May 2021)
SummaryMid-air collision between charter flight and private light aircraft; currently under investigation
Site Cherry Creek State Park, Arapahoe County, Colorado
39°37′30″N104°51′07″W / 39.62500°N 104.85194°W / 39.62500; -104.85194 Coordinates: 39°37′30″N104°51′07″W / 39.62500°N 104.85194°W / 39.62500; -104.85194
Total fatalities0
Total injuries0
Total survivors3 (on both planes)
First aircraft
Swearingen Metro (N184SW).jpg
A Key Lime Air Swearingen SA226 Metroliner similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Type Swearingen SA226TC Metroliner
Operator Key Lime Air
IATA flight No.KG970
ICAO flight No.LYM970
Call signKEY LIME 970
Registration N280KL
Flight origin Harriet Alexander Field, Salida, Colorado
Destination Centennial Airport, Colorado
Occupants1
Passengers0
Crew1
Fatalities0
Injuries0
Survivors1
Second aircraft
N416DJ Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 carbon (37116662713).jpg
N416DJ, the Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 carbon involved in the accident
Type Cirrus SR22 GTS G5
Operatorprivate flight owned by BB CO LLC
Call signNOVEMBER 416 DELTA JULIET
RegistrationN416DJ
Flight originCentennial Airport, Colorado
DestinationCentennial Airport, Colorado
Occupants2
Passengers1
Crew1
Fatalities0
Injuries0
Survivors2

The 2021 Centennial Airport mid-air collision occurred on approach to Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado, on 12 May 2021.

Events

At about 10:20 AM local time, Key Lime Air Flight 970, an air charter cargo flight from Salida, Colorado, operated by a Swearingen SA226-TC Metroliner, collided in mid-air with a Cirrus SR22 light aircraft over Cherry Creek State Park in Arapahoe County. The collision destroyed a large section of the cabin of the Metroliner and damaged the empennage, but the pilot—who was the sole aircraft occupant and, based on communications with air traffic control, was initially unaware of the extent of the damage—was able to make a safe landing at Centennial Airport despite the significant damage to the fuselage and subsequent failure of the right-hand engine. The pilot of the Cirrus, which was a private rental aircraft on a local flight from Centennial Airport, deployed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) and made a safe parachute-assisted forced landing near Cherry Creek Reservoir; the pilot and single passenger were not injured. [1] The accident is under investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] It was covered heavily by local and national media outlets due in part to the lack of fatalities or injuries to the parties involved, a rare outcome in a midair collision. [8] Aviation news site AVweb dubbed the incident "the Centennial Miracle". [9]

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References

  1. Cole, Brendan (13 May 2021). "Plane Miraculously Floats to Ground Using Parachute After Midair Collision: Man Steals Passenger Plane, Does Stunts Before Crashing". MSN . Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. Nieberg, Patty (13 May 2021). "'Amazing': Pilots, passenger uninjured after midair crash". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. Thomas, Dillon (13 May 2021). "FAA Investigates Mid-Air Collision Between 2 Small Planes Above Cherry Creek Reservoir South Of Denver". denver.cbslocal.com. Denver, Colorado: KCNC-TV. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. Bitler, Dara (12 May 2021). "'It's amazing': no one injured when 2 planes collide midair over Cherry Creek State Park". kdvr.com. Denver, Colorado: KDVR. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  5. Chui, Sam (13 May 2021). "Mid-Air Collision on Key Lime Air Metroliner and SR-22". samchui.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  6. Accident descriptionfor N280KL at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on May 16, 2021.
  7. "ASN Wikibase Occurrence #259802". Aviation Safety Network. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. "Two planes collide midair above Denver, no one injured". ABC News. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  9. "Just Days After Centennial Miracle, Another Midair, And Another CAPS Pull". AVweb. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.