never happened in aviation before?

[olasek]

What are the odds of two aircraft crashing at the same airport (or nearby) within minutes of each other and this not being result of a mid-air? I don't think such a thing ever took place. But today in Spain two small aircraft, one Cessna 182T, another Cirrus SR22 crashed in the immediate proximity of Asturias airport. The Cessna had G1000 avionics, Cirrus had Avidyne. The weather at the airport was IFR with fog and rain. Altogether 4 people died. Both aircraft were registered in Poland and both were flying from San Sebastian to some destination in Portugal, they were not expected to land in Asturias. Both were talking to the tower in Asturias minutes before they went down. The first reports spoke of mid-air collision, new reports suggest they were two independent accidents. I provide here a link, it is very brief, there is a whole lot more information available in Polish (I do read Polish) and they quote some recent Spanish sources which suggest this wasn't a mid-air. Very little is known at this point if they were on an IFR flight plan, etc but they were definitely flying together for some fly-in event. One of the occupants and a pilot of one of these aircraft was a renowned Polish architect who designed the Polish airline main headquarters building. Not all occupants have been identified yet. There was a third Polish aircraft flying with them and they landed at Asturias without any problem.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/n...killed-as-two-light-aircraft-collide-in-Spain

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Even crazier is that this didn't happen in the US. The level of GA activity outside North America is abysmal. Last time I was in Europe (France, NL, Spain) - for 2 1/2 weeks - I saw two GA airplanes in flight the entire time. And I'm one of those who always hears a plane 10 miles out and looks for it...

Of course, it sounds like the cause of the two crashes may have been weather-related, so it's also not completely random chance that they both crashed.

 

[steingar]

Last time MERFI was in Marion, there were two crashes in one day. First took out one runway, the second took out the other. Both were very minor with no injuries. Didn't make us look too good either.

 

[tonycondon]

i recall a spat of bad weather a few years ago where there were crashes two nights in a row at Cedar Rapids of light GA planes losing it on the ILS in weather to minimums.

 

[flyersfan31]

Dzien dobry.

I was once fluent in Polish. Functionally illiterate, but you wouldn't have known to hear me speak.

It's virtually all gone now, except the ability to string together 37 consonants in a row without a vowel in sight.

I still cheer for Legia Warszawa.

WRT the crashes, I doubt that it has never happened before. Still, it's unfortunate.

 

[olasek]

Talking about really bad, bad omen....

Yesterday the rescue crew who were partcipating in the recovery efforts after the crashes had a bad car accident, two people are hospitalized in very serious condition. But this is not the end - today a helicoper at this airport had a crash which resulted in two fatalities however there is no info if this heli was part of the rescue operation. This is hard to find in english-language news so I am reporting it based on the Polish sources.