(Part Three of an Extensive Investigation into the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In)

OK… Originally, we were planning to present the testimony of a number of highly qualified Insiders, air traffic controllers, mostly, in today's installment on the investigation of the issues we've been looking into concerning the oft-deadly and always controversial Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. And we're still going to do that… later. But when you get a chance to hear from the guy with the worst possible viewpoint to last year's mid-air, namely the guy who survived it, ya gotta put that high on your priority list… and wait 'til you hear his side of things…

Steve Pierce was the pilot of a PA-16 that careened from the sky after a collision with the late Jerry Morrison's RV-6A just before landing at Lakeland, prior to the official start of Sun 'n Fun 2002. Steve sent us an e-mail and offered to tell us his story, and we eagerly accepted… it's not often you get a chance to learn from someone who's had as tough an experience as he and lived to tell about it. No matter the fault, there definitely seemed to be some opportunities for a lesson or two. So… we're impressed and pleased that he spoke up and offered us an interview.

Steve is a little unhappy with the way the accident has been portrayed and handled… especially in light of the fact that the FAA is apparently looking to make an example of him. However, he seems to have a right to feel that way… read on, and see if you agree.

Pierce was flying a PA-16 Clipper… an elder rag-wing Piper taildragger that boasts a top speed of 109 kts and a cruise speed of 97 kts. The 850 pound airplane is strut-braced, carries 36 gallons of fuel, climbs about 600 fpm and is a simple little airplane that has gained a cult-like following from rag-wing Piper devotees. It is NOT a rocketship… just a mild little cruiser that stalls at all of 43 knots and handles in a pretty honest fashion. Pierce's bird was an old friend… he'd learned to fly in it and had logged over 1400 hours in that airplane alone. More a propos this series: Pierce had been flying into Sun n' Fun each year since 1995.

He described the Lake Parker gathering place as the "usual madhouse," and then described his fateful approach to Lakeland late Friday afternoon, April 5th, 2002. Upon reaching the airport pattern, Pierce says, "I made a sweeping turn to follow the Cherokee; I never saw the RV. When I was on Downwind, they started calling a low-wing, to fly straight to the numbers… Then they told him to turn again." Pierce remembers that he thought they were talking to the Cherokee -- he has since learned that it was actually the RV -- though there was nothing in the communications that would have specifically told him that.

"They were turning us pretty tight on the base -- tighter than I've ever turned at SNF -- I've been going to SNF since 1995; I think the RV didn't turn base when they told him to; he extended his downwind, then tried to blend in -- that's what I think."

Pierce explains that, "When you turn us onto 27, you go 'way out. This year, they called all our turns... in the past, they didn't do that. Everything they told me to do, they came back and said, 'good job.' When they talked to the RV, nothing..."

"You get nose to tail, you follow people in... I was nose to tail with that Cherokee, and I followed that Cherokee in."

The landing area got a bit confusing due to the arrival of a Cessna 170 that was supposedly told to land long and then commenced to land quite short… really screwing up the workflow. "Every time we've been at SnF, they've had two dots -- land long, land short [Note: But not that year… making positioning one's landing even more confusing]; this 170 landed, then went slow... the Cherokee was coming in behind him; his partner shoved in the power, they knew they wouldn't make it [a go-around], and they still landed."

Pierce remembers that the approach controller got interrupted several times on the way in, and got a bit flustered here and there, and was supplemented by another controller who seemed a mite steadier.

"The controller said, 'Low wing, you're good; high wing, you're good. Low wing, move it over to the left. Blue-and-white high wing...'

Oh, #$%@%$!

"Then I was hit and I saw GROUND. My whole windshield was just grass coming at me... I thought, 'this is it.' And I hit the ground, BAM, look around me, there's fuel everywhere, and I climbed out the back door, and then realized I was hurt."

"The NTSB told me that my right main gear hit the [RV's] canopy. Maybe he thought he wasn't over the runway, and then tried to get to the runway. I'll never know."

Pierce added, "This year, the controller was flustered; another controller had to interrupt him. Then, when they turned us too tight -- maybe they didn't want us flying over the neighborhood where the race went -- I think that's why they turned us so tight."

He was also concerned abut the change made by the Cessna 170… "I think maybe that 170 diverted the attention of the controllers off of us, and on to him."

Pierce was surprised at the fact that NOTAM was so sketchy about position, procedures, frequencies and hooking it all together. The NOTAM, says Pierce, "Isn't doing the job."

Doc's Been There, Seen That...

Pierce, by the way, has high praise for the controllers on the runway who came to his aid immediately, and to the emergency response staff… but was somewhat nonplused when brought to the emergency room and meeting a passing Doc, whose first words upon seeing him were a sonorous pronouncement, "Oh, Sun 'n Fun's starting again…" Gee, thanks.

Another low point was the "crap that came out in the 'The Alleger' (The Lakeland Ledger, Lakeland's hometown newspaper… whose Sun 'n Fun cheerleading has been quite obvious over the years), seemed far off what he remembered from the accident… and of course, since he was there, he has a fairly comprehensive understanding of what happened.

What really happened?

So… what DID happen? What's the matter with trying to get to and from Sun 'n Fun? Pierce thoughtfully replies… "well, I think it could be a lot safer. I wish they still used the dots to allow one person to more-easily land one short and one long." (Note: lack of proper ground references both leading up to and upon the airport is a common complaint of working controllers who were interviewed for this story).

He is very concerned about the bottlenecks that occur at Lake Parker; he had to sit out there and circle with all kinds of faster/slower traffic. He sees big problems with the communications procedure and sees a lot of confusion in who should be talking to him, when, and how… and that the confusion is NOT improved by the NOTAM. He'd like to see more controllers at runway level and agrees that the possibility of a portable, runway-based  tower structure (called a "Moo-Cow" in industry parlance) might be a good step ahead… though he has no idea why they haven't tried one before now.

False sense of security...

He also decries the false sense of security imparted in hearing a controller call out turns and directions and not being able to count on them for additional traffic information. "I did what they told me to do and every time, they'd say 'good job' or whatever… but they took some responsibility when they directed us and of course we HAVE to do what they say, I took a false sense of security in that and I won't take it anymore." 

Pierce also agrees that the ground operations at Sun 'n Fun allows the closest proximity he's seen between moving aircraft and pedestrians and that the buffer zone between moving props and people is simply inadequate.

A Transcript?

One of the intriguing discoveries in this story was that the aircraft following Steve, was his father, Gilbert. Gilbert Pierce was not only paying rapt attention to what was happening; he had a tape recorder taking down every word of the approach! Gilbert has provided ANN with a transcript and while we must note that this transcript was prepared by the father of the pilot involved, other persons who were involved seem to think this transcript is fairly accurate. [ANN is waiting for the official transcript, which the FAA is making us jump through hoops to get. Imagine that…]

Transcriber's Note: Transcript of tape recorded on 4/5/2002 about 3PM EST. Start of tape is 124.5mhz, Lake Parker Arrival. The balance of the tape was recorded on 127.7mhz, Lakeland Tower. All calls are from the tower except for 3 transmissions from aircraft requesting a wind check. I have added who I believe the calls were to as it is not clear from the tower calls who they were directed to. Only the tower communications are transcribed. ANN has edited this transcript to a point shortly before the collision.

• (unintelligible blanked by call for wind check) over the runway-keep it flying down the runway-save you a little taxi time-keep it going - oh nicely.
• (unintelligible blanked by call for wind check) strobes in trail please-no side by sides-no over and unders.
• High wing approaching the new terminal building start your left turn now for right down wind and descent please. (believe this call was to brown C170)
• Wind Check (from aircraft)
• Second high wing-don't turn yet-keep it coming south we'll call your turn. (believe this call was to 5293H)
• Good tail-dragger-keep it there.

(Note: There is some confusion here, as at one time they call it a High Wing, and then the next time, during a call that appears to be to the same aircraft, they call it a Tail Dragger. There were 5 high wing tail draggers in the pattern at this time.)

• Good tail dragger-keep it there.
• Wind Check please (from unknown aircraft)
• Wind 350 at 4
• High wing now - start your down wind. Left turn right down wind. (Believe this call was to 5293H)
• Low wing-you keep coming south we'll call your turn.
• OK, the first high wing that's on the down wind good job descending-turn your right base now-right base now (Note: Pierce believes this is the brown C170 or the red and white high wing.)
• High -high-high wing, I'm sorry- a low wing (New Voice from Tower) Low wing (unintelligible) airport you have high-start your descent - start your east bound now.
• High wing on the right base- good job- one turn to the final now please-wind 340 at 5 runway 270 right the skinny runway-you're cleared to land. (Brown C170)
• Just go down the runway as far as you can.
• High wing - one turn to the final- I want you to tighten up the base please-one turn to the final-you're getting a good north wind so you need ta---good job
• Red and white Cherokee- go east go east now!! (This is the airplane 5293H followed from Lake Parker)
• High wing-turn you down wind now.
• Tail dragger over the numbers- keep it going-keep it going fly it down the runway
• Low wing-turn base now - turn base now- tighten it up-one turn to final please. (RV6A)
• Low wing on right down wind-maroon low wing-turn right base now- (RV6A)
• Red and White (background conversation in the tower unintelligible)
• Ah
• Red and white high wing -ah-change your runway-27 left now cleared to land 27 left you're on a right base for 27 left-cleared to land.
• Maroon low wing-straight to the numbers for 27 right-the skinny runway now straight to the numbers-I don't want a base I want you straight to the numbers.
• High Wing (5293H) turn base now turn base now---good job you're following (Pause)
• Maroon! You're not helping me-go right to the numbers 27 right-the skinny runway-----tighten it up-speed it up if you have too. (RV6A)
• Red high wing turn base now (5834H)
• High wing approaching the tower-start your descent for me --Good job-keep it coming south-I'll call you're turn-don't do it yet.
• Red white keep it flying cause there's people behind you. I'll tell you when to set it down. (Red and White Cherokee 5293H had followed from Lake Parker)
• Maroon you're doing good (RV6A)
• High wing you're fine (5293H?)
• Tail dragger-speed it up down the runway-there's a lot of runway down there, there's people behind you, I need you keep it going down the runway- keep your speed up.

(This call was to the C170, Pierce believes, after [later] talking to the Cherokee pilot... At the time, however, he thought the call was to his own 5293H--confusing because of the number of tail-draggers, not to mention the fact that 5293H was over the runway at this point)

• Maroon low wing-move to the left, slide over to the left low wing. Big Runway-on the big runway-you're cleared to land.
• Blue and White High wing...

(Collision occurs at this point)

• Keep it up, keep it up high cause there's someone behind you-keep it up higher!
• (New voice from Tower) Red Tail Dragger keep it flying keep it flying red tail dragger.

The FAA Goes After Pierce… Long Before He Recovers

Last fall, while still healing, Pierce received certified letters from the FAA letting him know that he was in deep shinola. The FAA sent him a Notice of Proposed Certificate Action…. Threatening to take away his license… for an accident that was still, officially, under investigation and for which a final cause was YET to be established!

In what certainly appears to be an FAA-instigated attempt to lock down a fall-guy, Pierce reported that the FAA was on him, literally, right after the accident and attempted to interrogate him even as he lay in a hospital bed, with significant injuries and without the ability to actually talk, due to his injuries… requiring him to write out his answers.

Pierce has tried to compromise a bit… taking a 609 ride to prove he was still up to snuff... but has refused to accept a 90 day suspension that they want to foist upon him. Still, the FAA went after him charging that…

4. The above mentioned arrival that you executed, a "Lake Parker Arrival," consisted of the following procedures: fly westerly heading over power plant smokestack with white strobe lights, located at the north end of Lake Parker, maintain 100 kts at 1,200 MSL, then southbound heading to airport after crossing Interstate 4 and prior to reaching strobes on towers, then entry of airport traffic pattern, right downwind for Runway 27 right.

5. Thereafter, you executed a right traffic turn to the base leg for Runway 27 right.

6. At the time in which you executed the above-mentioned base turn, there was another aircraft ahead of you (civil aircraft N3333S, an RV6A) that was on his final approach to land.

7. While on your final approach to land on runway 27 right, you overtook and collided with civil aircraft N3333S while the RV6A was still on his final approach to land, causing an uncontrolled impact with the ground of both aircraft.

8. As a consequence of the foregoing collision, civil aircraft N3333S sustained actual and substantial damage, and the pilot of said aircraft was fatally injured.

9. As a result, you violated the following sections of the Federal Aviation Regulations:

a. Section 91.13(a) in that no person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

b. Section 91.111(a) in that no person may operate an aircraft so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard.

c. Section 91.113(b) in that when weather conditions permit, regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft. When a rule of this section gives another aircraft the right-of-way, the pilot shall give way to that aircraft and may not pass over, under, or ahead of it unless well clear.

d. Section 91.113(f) in that each aircraft that is being overtaken has the right-of-way and each pilot of an overtaking aircraft shall alter course to the right to pass well clear.

e. Section 91.113(g) in that landing. aircraft, while on final approach to land or while landing, have the right-of-way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the surface, except that they shall not take advantage of this rule to force an aircraft off the runway surface which has already landed and is attempting to make way for an aircraft on final approach. When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport for the purpose of landing, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right-of-way, but it shall not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of another which is on final approach to land or to overtake that aircraft. 

Taking into consideration all of the circumstances of this case, we propose, pursuant to the authority vested in the Administrator by 49 L.S.C. Section 44709, to issue an Order suspending any and all Private Pilot certificates you hold for a period of ninety (90) days.
An Order for such suspension will be issued unless, on or prior to fifteen (15) days after your receipt of this letter, you elect to proceed in accordance with the enclosed information with respect to certificate action.

The above leaves us truly puzzled… how can the FAA lay blame when the NTSB has not published a proper conclusion? Isn't that pre-judging the investigation before it is complete... and AFTER Pierce had cooperated and taken a 609 ride, to boot? Worse, as Pierce was following directions and turning as directed (and being told he was doing a good job), how does he bear the responsibility in this? Could it be that the FAA is looking to find fault with a pilot who might otherwise have a hell of a lawsuit against the FAA? And, if he is responsible, why did the FAA ALSO take action against a Senior Controller working the tower (but on the phone to senior authorities, coordinating a number of issues as required by his position). With all the guys getting stepped on (communications-wise) how can anyone even assert that Pierce or (RV pilot) Morrison heard the instructions (and mind you, in such circumstances, one does NOT acknowledge an instruction due to the high intensity of the traffic)? Worse: how could anyone in the tower NOT see these aircraft converging and make a warning call (or did they try and get stepped on)?

Better yet, one wonders how a draggy 108 HP Piper Clipper overtakes a speedy 160HP RV-6A… as alleged in the FAA accusation?

It may not be impossible, but it sure seems improbable… and some of the controllers we interviewed agree that this is not how it played out.  

Once again; we have more questions than answers... but if you stop by to read the next installment, you'll get a chance to see what the actual controllers who have worked the Lakeland Tower during Sun 'n Fun have to say about it...

Statement to ANN: From the Family Of the Late Jerry Morrison

ANN has received the following statement from the family of the pilot killed in the RV-6A discussed above. Attorney/Pilot Jim Furman sent this to us to explain their position and also told ANN that the FAA has been notified that a suit will be filed on behalf of the Morrison family. Furman noted that the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In will be sued, as well.

"Mrs. Morrison is very concerned for those like her husband, who loved aviation. Sun N Fun is one of the premier venues where pilots and aviation enthusiast gather each year. A lot of planning and support from the community, and the government go into making the event happen. If any place that pilots gather should be safe and well organized, it should be at such an event. Unfortunately at Sun N Fun 2002, reasonable measures that could have been taken were not. The arrival procedure was not well thought out or staffed. This created a hazardous condition and was the cause of the mid-air between the two aircraft."

Next: The controllers speak… forcefully, passionately and scathingly about working the Lakeland tower during the annual "Sun 'n Fun Die-In," and their frustration with the roadblocks they encounter in dealing with a senior Sun 'n Fun honcho, who ALSO works for the FAA... can you say "conflict of interest," anyone? I knew that you could....

• Read Part One of this series
• Read Part Two of this series

FMI: www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html, www.sun-n-fun.org