MIA85FA247

Factual narrative

THE COMMERCIAL PLT & CFI DEPARTED FROM GULFPORT, MS ON A NIGHT VFR X-COUNTRY FLT TO GULF SHORES. AL. THE FLT LANDED AT FOLEY, AL AFTER THE PLT MISTOOK FOLEY FOR GULFSHORES 10 MI SOUTH. THE FLT DEPARTED AGAIN & WAS ADVISED BY ATC TO FLY A HEADING OF 170 DEG FOR GULFSHORES. CONTACT BETWEEN THE FLT & ATC WAS THEN TERMINATED DUE TO DISTANCE & ALT CONSIDERATION. THE PLT THEN OBSERVED THE LIGHTS OF OTHER ACFT EAST OF HIM & ASSUMED THEM TO BE IN THE TOUCH & GO PATTERN AT GULFSHORES. THE LIGHTS HE HAD OBSERVED WERE THOSE OF NAVY JET TRAINING A POSITION. THE NAVY ACFT WERE EXECUTING LEFT TRAFFIC BUT THE CIVIL PLT ENTERED INTO RT TRAFFIC & SEQUENCECD HIMSELF BETWEEN THE ACFT ON FINAL APCH. THE FASTER JET ACFT OVERTOOK THE CIVIL & A MIDAIR COLLISION OCCURRED. BOTH ACFT LANDED SAFELY & THERE WERE NO INJURES. THE CIVIL PLT STATED THAT HE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO DISTINGUISH A CIVIL ARPT BEACON FROM A MILTARY ARPT BEACON. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12