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Failure of both pilots to look led to crash

That is the conclusion of federal investigators in a recent report on the fatal midair collision in 2004 at the Clearwater Executive Airpark.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published March 3, 2006

CLEARWATER - Both pilots involved in a fatal midair collision two years ago contributed to the accident by failing to look out as they entered the flight pattern around Clearwater Executive Airpark, according to federal investigators.

Before the Jan. 17, 2004, collision, John W. Collins of Lakeland had received clearance to land his twin-engine Piper Comanche, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released this week.

As Collins descended toward runway 16, an air controller warned him of "numerous traffic in the vicinity," the report states.

Then, Collins' passenger screamed, "Look out, look out!"

There was no time to react, Collins told NTSB investigators.

A single-engine Cessna 150, piloted by Bela Toth, 79, of Clearwater was flying over the runway, headed straight for the Piper. A witness at the airpark later said that Toth had reported flying across the runway, but had not reported his altitude or intended direction.

At 1,000 feet in the air, the two planes bumped, hard.

The Piper shook, pitched downward and rolled to the left before Collins was able to regain control and safely land at the airpark.

After the impact, both Collins and his passenger, Frankie Dees of Mulberry, thought the tail of the plane had been torn off, but it had not. Collins headed straight for an emergency landing and debated whether to try the landing gear. Just before landing, he dropped the landing gear, which worked.

Collins, 49, a certified airline transport pilot and licensed flight instructor, could not be reached for comment Thursday. After the crash, however, he said he and Dees were lucky to have landed successfully.

"It's unfortunate it happened," he said. "But we are so fortunate we're here. The statistics are, if this happens, you don't survive."

The Cessna, meanwhile, spiraled down and crashed nose-first into an oak tree, about 20 feet from a crowded playground at the Long Center on Belcher Road.

Toth died on impact. A native of Hungary, Toth was an avid recreational flier, who had passed a physical required to keep his pilot's license several months before, friends said.

[Last modified March 3, 2006, 02:15:34]