They do CAP.
The horizontal on the Piper was almost destroyed. the entire left stab. and elevator were a mangled mess. It appears the aircraft crossed paths with the left wingtip of the Cessna impacting the Pipers tail.
I know how quickly things get big fast in a situation like this and with a pair of student pilots, particularly the solo one, they may well have been preoccupied inside their cockpits and not noticed the other aircraft until it was too late.
Trust me, that speck out in the distance may not appear to be moving at all when you first look at it. It may in fact be an aircraft on an intercept course. If you do not immediately recognise that could be the case and pay careful attention to it, the next time you look up it could be filling your windscreen.
i think you may be exactly right. the solo student, was probably inside trying to be perfect. the student/cfi were probably going over something, and also spending too much time inside.
i know how fast things can get big. like i said, i've never let another within 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile of me. i have had to avoid a few, including twice in the patterns. once t the fllying w, once at south jersey regional. the second one was beyond stupid. i had made my call to depart runway 26, closed pattern. not 10 seconds later this guy(barley understandable english) calls on the 45 for 08. we immediatly told him 26 was the active. he repeated himself. on crosswind, i saw him on downwind for 08, so i called him telling him i was exiting the pattern to the north.
don'tcha know that stupid%^$& turns on an intercept course for me??????
anyway, i avoided him easily.
hope no more bad comes of this. politicians like things like this to try to close airports.
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