....and the NY times
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At October 22, 2007 12:35 AM , New York Times said...
Two small planes collided in midair over Long Island last night but sustained only minor damage and landed safely at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale, an airport spokesman said. No one was hurt.
The accident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. over Dix Hills, a few miles northeast of the airport, as the two single-engine planes were preparing to land, said the spokesman, Gary Lewi.
"They were very lucky," Mr. Lewi said. "It was more a bump than a collision."
The cause of the accident was unclear. A spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board said that Federal Aviation Administration representatives went to the scene last night to begin an investigation.
Mr. Lewi said one plane, a Cessna 172, carried only its pilot; the other, a Piper Saratoga, had a pilot and passenger. Their names were not released.
One plane's wingtip and part of a landing light fell from the sky and bounced off a home under construction nearby, said Larry Feld, chief of the Dix Hills Fire Department.
The Cessna had wing and windshield damage, while the Saratoga lost 8 to 12 inches from a wing, rupturing a fuel tank, Mr. Lewi said. That tank leaked upon landing, but the spill was quickly cleaned up, he said. Republic is a state-owned general-aviation airport used by privately owned small planes, corporate jets and charter flights.
