NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX87FA296
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
A MIDAIR COLLISION OCCURRED ABT 2.8 MI WEST OF PALO ALTO ARPT (PAO) AS CESSNA 152, N152SC, WAS ON A LEFT X-WND DEP FM RWY 30 & MOONEY M20J, N5201Y WAS TRANSITTING THE ARPT TRAFFIC AREA (ATA) FM SE TO NW & DSCNDG FM 2400' TO 1500'. N152SC WAS ON TWR FREQ. N5201Y (ON A TRAFFIC WATCH FLT FOR A LCL RDO STN) HAD JUST BEEN GIVEN A FREQ CHG TO SAN CARLOS (SQL) TWR TO TRANSIT ITS ATA, WHICH WAS NEXT TO THE PAO ATA. THE LCL CTL PSN AT PAO WAS BEING WORKED BY A DEVELOPMENTAL CTLR (D/C) UNDER SUPVN OF THE TWR SUPVR. HE DIDN'T IDENT N5201Y ON HIS BRITE RADAR. THE SUPVR SAW A PSBL CONFLICT DEVELOPING & WAITED A FEW SEC BFR ISSUING AN ADZY TO SEE IF THE D/C WOULD SEE & RESOLVE IT. THE SUPVR THEN TRANSMITTED A TRAFFIC ADZY TO N152SC, BUT THERE WAS NO REPLY. ABT 9 SEC LTR, THE 2 ACFT CONVERGED & COLLIDED. NEITHER AIRCREW SAW THE OTR ACFTIN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION, BUT BOTH WERE ABLE TO LND SAFELY. THE D/C HAD 8 HRS OF OJT IN THAT PSN. THE AIRSPACE WAS COMPLEX WHERE 5 ATA'S ADJOINED EACH OTHER; THE VARIABLE TCA FLOOR SEGMENTS RANGED FM 4000' OVER PAO TO 1500' OVER SQL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1987_LAX87FA296.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
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Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (midair collision). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Airspace Saturation and Midair Collision Risk: A Case Study at a Class D Airport
Near midair collisions are precursor events to actual collisions and may be an indicator of risk. While previous studies have used reports of near midair collisions to relate factors such as airspace …
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Presentation
The Viability of See-and-Avoid for Midair Collision Avoidance for Urban Air Mobility (UAM)
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation concept that could supplement today’s ground and air transportation systems.
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Presentation
The Viability of See-and-Avoid for Midair Collision Avoidance for UAM
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation concept that could supplement today’s ground and air transportation systems.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other - Patent
Apparatus for aiding a pilot in avoiding a midair collision between aircraft
An apparatus for aiding a pilot in avoiding a midair collision between aircraft is described. A protected aircraft carries a transmitter, a transponder, a receiver, and a data processor; and an intrud…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Evaluating Small UAS Near Midair Collision Risk Using AeroScope and ADS-B
As small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) continue to proliferate in the National Airspace System (NAS), near midair collisions are becoming more common.
- NASA NTRS 2011 · Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Midair collisions - The accidents, the systems, and the Realpolitik
Two midair collisions occurring in 1978 are described, and the air traffic control system and procedures in use at the time, human factors implications and political consequences of the accidents are …
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