Two small planes collide over LI, nobody injured

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Two small planes collide over LI, nobody injured

BY STEVE RITEA AND CHRISTINE ARMARIO
9:09 PM EDT, October 21, 2007

Two single-engine planes landed safely after "bumping" one another about five miles outside of Republic Airport in Farmingdale early Sunday, officials said, causing no injuries but dropping a small piece of debris in Dix Hills.

The incident occurred around 6:15 p.m., when a Piper Saratoga and a Cessna 152 collided, said Airport Director Michael Geiger. The Saratoga lost about 8 to 12 inches off the tip of its wing, said Gary Lewi, a spokesman for the airport who characterized the collision as a mid-air bump. A fuel tank inside that wing was also punctured, Lewi said.

The Cessna sustained damage to its windshield and wing, Lewi said. One passenger was flying with the pilot inside the Saratoga, Geiger said, and the pilot of the Cessna did not have any passengers.

Both planes took off earlier in the day from Republic, where they are based, and were headed back there when the incident occurred, Lewi said.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffo ... _headlines

Just saw this on the news. The angels must have been flying with them.

Here's the ATC conversation:

collision near end, 28 mins:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kfrg/ ... -2130Z.mp3

For the rest:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kfrg/ ... -2200Z.mp3

Excellently handled by the controller, glad they're ok. It's amazing that these things don't happen more often.