Two Cessnas collided in mid-air Sunday afternoon near Los Angeles, killing a total of five people. Both planes carried two passengers each, and another man was killed by the falling wreckage in a car dealership below. One onlooker described the horrific scene:
“There were bodies falling out of the sky,” eyewitness Hector Hernandez told KCBS-TV. “One of them crashed into the top of a Ford Mustang, and another one fell not too far behind that one on the parking lot.”
The area where the crash occurred, about 45 miles southeast of LA, is not controlled by a flight control tower. According to the New York Times, pilots are supposed to use visual flight rules during the daytime to avoid other aircraft when flying in such an “uncontrolled” area.
This story reminds me of one of Dennis Miller’s observations about flying: “They say you’re more likely to be involved in a crash during the car ride to the airport than you are during the flight itself. I guess that’s true. But how often, after two planes collide, are the pilots able to get out and exchange insurance information?”
Sadly, not this time.