Two small airplanes, a Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II and a Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 collided in the air near Denver, leaving the Metro II nearly ripped in half and forcing the Cirrus's pilot to deploy a parachute. Remarkably, both planes landed safely and no one was injured, officials said. Both planes were getting ready to land at a small regional airport, Denver-Centennial Airport, CO (APA/KAPA) in a Denver suburb on Wednesday when they collided, according to the National Transportation Safety Board and South Metro Fire Rescue.
The pilot was the only person aboard a twin-engine Metro II that landed at Centennial Airport despite suffering major damage to its tail section. The plane is owned by a Colorado-based company Key Lime.
“Those pilots need to go buy a lottery ticket right now,” Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Deputy John Bartmann said. “I don’t remember anything like this — especially everybody walking away. I mean that’s the amazing part of this.”
A witness said “I saw two planes in the sky. I saw a larger green plane, which I thought was a tow plane, along with what I thought was a glider being towed by it. I heard a noise but didn’t realize that the two planes had collided.
Cvelbar said she saw the green plane fly off and shortly after saw the smaller plane deploy its parachute. She said she initially thought it was a training exercise. “When I realized that the small plane was going down I ran toward it. The pilot and his passenger were up and about,” Cvelbar said.
A pilot and one passenger were on the other plane, a single-engine Cirrus SR22, which unleashed a red and white parachute and drifted down to a safe landing in a field near homes in Cherry Creek State Park, Bartmann said.
The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it was sending staff to investigate. Key Lime Air will cooperate with the investigation, the company said in a statement.
Aircraft No.1 Information
Owner: Key Lime Air
Code: LYM
Aircraft: Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II
Registration: N280KL
Serial Number: TC-280
Engines: 2 Garrett TPE331
Owner: BBC Co LLC
Aircraft: Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 carbon
Registration: N416DJ
Serial Number: 4394
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