96-0085

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 7, 2015, about 1101 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N3601V, and a Lockheed Martin F-16CM, operated by the US Air Force (USAF), collided in midair near Moncks Corner, South Carolina. The private pilot and passenger aboard the Cessna died, and the Cessna was destroyed during the collision. The damaged F-16 continued to fly for about 2 1/2 minutes, during which the pilot activated the airplane's ejection system. The F-16 pilot landed safely using a parachute and incurred minor injuries, and the F-16 was destroyed after its subsequent collision with terrain and postimpact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the Cessna, which departed from Berkeley County Airport (MKS), Moncks Corner, South Carolina, about 1057, and was destined for Grand Strand Airport, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The F-16 was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan and had departed from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, about 1020.

Air Force F-16

According to the USAF, the F-16 pilot was assigned as pilot-in-command for a single-ship, operational check flight to verify the completion of recent corrective maintenance. The flight itinerary included practice instrument approaches at Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), South Carolina, and Charleston Air Force Base/International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, before returning to SSC. Since the flight was single ship and single pilot, the pilot performed an individual flight briefing using the personal briefing guide. (The Shaw General Briefing Guide is a local USAF document that F-16 pilots use to prepare for their missions.) Before departure, squadron personnel briefed the pilot on a range of subjects, including parking location, maintenance issues, aircraft configuration, notices to airmen, weather, and the mission timeline.

After departing from SSC, the F-16 proceeded to MYR, where the pilot conducted two practice instrument approaches before continuing to CHS. According to air traffic control (ATC) radar and voice communication data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the F-16 pilot contacted the approach controller at CHS about 1052 and requested to perform a practice tactical air navigation system (TACAN) instrument approach to runway 15. The controller instructed the F-16 pilot to fly a heading of 260º to intercept the final approach course. About 1055, the controller instructed the F-16 pilot to descend from 6,000 ft to 1,600 ft. About that time, the F-16 was located about 34 nautical miles (nm) northeast of CHS.

Cessna

Recorded airport surveillance video showed that the Cessna, which was based at MKS, departed from runway 23. At 1057:41, a radar target displaying a visual flight rules (VFR) transponder code of 1200, and later correlated to be the accident Cessna, appeared in the vicinity of the departure end of runway 23 at MKS at an indicated altitude of 200 ft. The Cessna continued its climb and began tracking generally southeast over the next 3 minutes. For the duration of the flight, the pilot of the Cessna did not contact any ATC facilities, nor was he required to do so.

The Collision

The CHS automated radar terminal system (ARTS IIE) detected a conflict between the F-16 and the Cessna at 1059:59. According to recorded radar data, the conflict alert (CA) was presented on the radar display and aurally alarmed at 1100:13, when the F-16 and the Cessna were separated laterally by 3.5 nm and vertically by 400 ft.

At 1100:16, the CHS approach controller issued a traffic advisory advising the F-16 pilot of "traffic 12 o'clock, 2 miles, opposite direction, 1,200 [ft altitude] indicated, type unknown." At 1100:24, the F-16 pilot responded that he was "looking" for the traffic. At 1100:26, the controller advised the F-16 pilot, "turn left heading 180 if you don't have that traffic in sight." At 1100:30, the pilot asked, "confirm 2 miles?" At 1100:33, the controller stated, "if you don't have that traffic in sight turn left heading 180 immediately." As the controller was stating the instruction and over the next 18 seconds, the radar-derived ground track of the F-16 began turning southerly toward the designated heading.

At 1100:49, the radar target of the F-16 was 1/2 nm northeast of the Cessna, at an altitude of 1,500 ft, and was on an approximate track of 215º. At that time, the Cessna reported an altitude of 1,400 ft and was established on an approximate ground track of 110º. At 1100:53, the controller advised the F-16 pilot, "traffic passing below you one thousand four hundred [ft]." At 1100:54, the altitude of the F-16 remained at 1,500 ft, and the last radar return was received from the Cessna. Recorded radar data indicated that the ARTS IIE continued to provide a CA to the controller until 1101:00. The next radar target for the F-16 was not received until 1101:13. At 1101:19, the F-16 pilot transmitted a distress call, and no subsequent intelligible transmissions were received.

Several witnesses observed both airplanes in the moments leading up to the collision. One witness, located adjacent to the west branch of the Cooper River, noticed the Cessna flying overhead, roughly from west to east, and then observed the F-16 flying overhead, roughly from north to south. He estimated that the two airplanes collided at an altitude of about 900 ft. He further described that both airplanes were "very low." The F-16 struck the left side of the Cessna, and debris began falling. He reported that a large black cloud of smoke appeared after the collision but did not observe any fire. He stated that neither airplane appeared to conduct any evasive maneuvers before the collision. After the collision, the F-16 then "powered up," turned right, and flew southbound along the river.

Another witness reported that he was standing in his backyard overlooking the river. He watched as the Cessna flew by from west to east. He next saw the F-16 flying toward the Cessna, coming from the Cessna's left rear position, roughly north to south. When the F-16 collided with the left side of the Cessna, debris started falling, with some landing in his yard. He stated that it looked as if the F-16 tried to "pull up" just before impact. After the impact, the F-16 turned right and flew along the river to the south and out of sight. Once the F-16 was out of sight, he heard several loud "bang" noises.

ATC radar continued to track the F-16 as it proceeded on a southerly course. After it descended to 300 ft, radar contact was lost at 1103:17 in the vicinity of the F-16 crash site. The F-16 pilot used the airplane's emergency escape system (ejection seat) to egress, incurring minor injuries as he landed on the ground under canopy. He was subsequently met by first responders. Figure 1 shows the calculated flight track for the F-16 and the Cessna.

Figure 1. Calculated flight track for the F-16 (yellow) and the Cessna (orange). (The first witness is located north of the collision point, and the second witness is located southwest of the collision point.) PERSONNEL INFORMATIONF-16 Pilot

According to USAF personnel, the pilot of the F-16 was current and qualified in the accident airplane as a four-ship flight lead. His additional duties at the time of the accident included the position of 55th Fighter Squadron Chief of Mobility. At the time of the accident, he had accumulated 2,383 total hours of military flight experience, including 624 hours in the F-16. The pilot's total flight experience included 1,055 hours at the controls of the MQ-1B (Predator) and 456 hours at the controls of the MQ-9 (Reaper), both unmanned aerial vehicles. (The remaining hours were in USAF training aircraft and flight simulators.) His recent experience included 35 hours in the 90 days before the accident and 24 hours in the 30 days before the accident, all in the F-16. The USAF reported that the pilot was medically qualified for flight duty and was wearing contact lenses at the time of the accident.

The F-16 pilot's most recent instrument checkride was completed on August 25, 2014, and his most recent mission (tactical) checkride was completed on March 24, 2015. According to USAF records, none of the pilot's post-pilot training checkrides contained discrepancies or downgrades.

The F-16 pilot reported during a postaccident interview that he had accumulated about 50 hours of civilian flying experience and possessed an FAA-issued commercial pilot certificate obtained through 14 CFR 61.73. He had not flown civilian aircraft since he began initial USAF pilot training in July 2005.

Cessna Pilot

The pilot of the Cessna held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land issued on December 29, 2014. His most recent, and only, FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on February 7, 2013, with no waivers or limitations. The pilot's personal flight logbook was recovered from the wreckage and contained detailed entries between May 2012 and July 5, 2015. As of the final entry, the pilot had accumulated 244 total flight hours, of which 239 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. He had flown 58 hours in the 90 days before the accident and 18 hours in the 30 days before the accident. Review of FAA records revealed no history of accidents, incidents, violations, or pending investigations.

The Cessna pilot's primary flight instructor indicated in a postaccident interview that the pilot was "very careful" and "responsive." He stated that the pilot "enjoyed" talking to ATC and was aware of the benefits. During his instruction, he would contact ATC for flight-following without being prompted. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed that he communicated with SSC ATC on at least 9 occasions and CHS ATC at least 21 times.

Air Traffic Cont...