2000 Illinois mid-air collision

8 Feb 2000 · Two miles northeast of Waukegan National Airport Zion, Illinois, United States

Moravan Z242L and American Flyers Cessna 172P · Mid-air collision due to pilot error on the Zlin 242L aircraft

Show on map NTSB source dataset Read the Wikipedia article

Event

NTSB case: CHI00MA066
Event type: Accident
Investigation: Unknown
Event fatalities: 3 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities: 0
Occupants: Unknown
Survivors: 0
Injuries: 5 · all on the ground
Operation: General aviation
Weather: Visual Meteorological Cond

Aircraft 1 · Moravan Z242L

Aircraft type: Moravan Z242
Category: Airplane
Registration: N5ZA
Operator: Unknown
Onboard fatalities: Unknown
Occupants: Not stated
Survivors: 0
Injuries: None · no survivors
Route: From Sheboygan County Memorial Airport (SBM), Sheboygan, WITo Waukegan National Airport (UGN), Waukegan, IL
Aircraft age: Not recorded
Flight rules: Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flight: Approach
First occurrence: Midair collision
Damage: Destroyed

Aircraft 2 · Cessna 172P

Aircraft type: Cessna 172
Category: Airplane
Registration: N99063
Operator: American Flyers
Onboard fatalities: Unknown
Occupants: Not stated
Survivors: 0
Injuries: None · no survivors
Route: From Waukegan National Airport (UGN), Waukegan, ILTo not recorded
Aircraft age: Not recorded
Flight rules: Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flight: Approach
First occurrence: Midair collision
Also coded: Tree(s)
Damage: Destroyed

Cause areas

Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained
Pilot of other aircraft › Clearance, not maintained

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

From the Wikipedia article

On February 8, 2000, a Zlin 242L light aircraft piloted by Chicago radio personality Bob Collins was involved in a mid-air collision with a Cessna 172P over Zion, Illinois, while both aircraft were on approach to land at the nearby Waukegan National Airport. The Zlin dived and crashed through the roof of a five-story medical building. The Cessna spiraled down and crashed onto a residential street three blocks away. All three people on board both aircraft were killed and five people on the ground were injured.

The crash was instrumental in effecting changes at Waukegan National Airport, and on March 24, 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the control tower would receive a Terminal Automated Radar Display and Information System.

Collision

Both aircraft were operating under Federal Aviation Regulation Part 91 without flight plans during visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. At the time of the accident, visibility was 10 miles (16 km) with a temperature of 33 degrees Fahrenheit (1 °C) and the wind 220 degrees at 17 knots.

N5ZA's cross-country flight departed Sheboygan County Memorial Airport on February 8, 2000 at 14:00 en route to Waukegan National Airport 93 miles to the south. Collins was operating the aircraft from the left seat as pilot in command (PIC) and his pilot-rated friend Herman Luscher occupied the right seat.

Sharon Hock was flying N99063 solo and was practicing her take-offs and landings at Waukegan National Airport using runway 23 in a right hand traffic pattern. At 14:57 Hock was preparing to take-off for what would have been her twelfth and final circuit. She then was to pick up her instructor Scott Chomicz and fly back to Chicago Executive Airport, then named Palwaukee, where the airplane was based.

At 14:57:42, Hock was holding her Cessna short of runway 23 waiting for departure clearance and the Zlin was approximately 11 miles from the approach end of the runway. Veteran air traffic controller Greg Fowler was on duty in the airport's control tower as the Local Controller.

At this point the Local Controller lost sight of N99063 about 1.5 miles northeast of the airport and could not yet see N5ZA due to hazy weather conditions near Lake Michigan.

N99063 turned to base leg and shortly afterward turned on to final just in front of N5ZA. It is likely that, because her Cessna was below the Zlin, its high wing blocked Hock's view of the Zlin's position. When interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later, the Local Controller stated that his timing to request N99063 to turn was based on his estimate of the elapsed time between losing sight of N99063 and Collins' radio report that N5ZA had crossed the shoreline.

At this point another Cessna 172P, tail number N52048, was on the downwind leg of the left traffic pattern for runway 23 and reported seeing N99063.

The Local Controller believed the landing sequence was N5ZA first, followed by N99063 and finally N52048 but later stated at this point, "something started to click [that] something was wrong", and he used binoculars to try to spot the aircraft. The LC stated that he saw N5ZA at this time but that he did not see N99063.

When Collins reported "we have the traffic in sight" he had spotted the Cessna N52048 off to his left. It is likely that, because he was above Hock's aircraft, he never saw N99063 due to the blind spot created by the Zlin's right wing.

At 15:04 the Zlin and Cessna 172P N99063 collided approximately 650 feet above ground level (AGL), 2 miles from the approach end of runway 23 while both aircraft were on final approach.

At the time of impact the Zlin's airspeed was significantly higher; it struck the Cessna from above with its propeller chopping off most of the Cessna's left flap and its right wing striking the Cessna's tail. Immediately after the collision the Cessna began spiraling down; clipping a tree it initially hit the ground in a nursing home parking lot, hit two parked cars and skidded to rest in the middle of Elim Avenue. The Zlin continued level flight for a moment then nose dived into the roof of a hospital creating a hole of approximately 45 square feet. Leaking fuel exploded 45 seconds later, blowing out windows and starting an extensive fire on the fifth floor of the hospital. Five hospital employees were injured and later the hospital's insurance carrier claimed $32 million in damage.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The NTSB released its report on May 3, 2001. The NTSB investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's [Collins] failure to maintain clearance from the other airplane. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's poor visual lookout, and the airport control tower local controller's failure to provide effective sequencing." The NTSB did not fault Sharon Hock.

In a letter to the FAA the NTSB stated "Because [the local controller Fowler] did not see the airplanes, his erroneous estimate of [Hock's] progress since losing visual contact and the pilots' imprecise position reports were the only information that he had with which to judge the proper sequence of the airplanes. His initial decision to sequence [Collins] first was apparently based on his incorrect belief that [Collins] was closer to the airport than he actually was. Subsequent communications between [Fowler] and [Collins] confirm that the airplane was not nearing the runway as quickly as the sequencing plan would require; however, [Fowler] did not amend the sequence."

The NTSB also said that the crash could have been prevented if a radar display system had been in place at Waukegan National Airport. With no radar the Local Controller could only rely on what he could see from the control tower and what information he gathered in radio communications with the pilots to provide proper sequencing.

Text from the Wikipedia article “2000 Illinois mid-air collision” (revision 1357593866, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

NTSB narrative

At 1455:29, the pilot of N5ZA, a Moravan Z242L, called the Waukegan Regional Airport (UGN) air traffic control tower (ATCT) and reported 15 miles northeast for landing. The local controller (LC) acknowledged and queried N5ZA, "are you coming down the shoreline?" N5ZA responded, "That's affirmative." (Radar data showed that N5ZA was actually 4.5 miles east of the shoreline). The LC instructed the pilot to "report turning final at the shoreline for the straight in [to] runway two three." The pilot responded, "ok, straight in for two three, thanks." At 1457:57, the LC instructed N99063, a Cessna 172P, to taxi into position and hold," and, 10 seconds later, he cleared N99063 for takeoff. At 1459:48, the LC asked the pilot of N5ZA for his position. The pilot replied that he was "just about a mile or two off the lake...off the shoreline." (However, radar data showed that N5ZA was actually 3.75 miles off the shore along the runway 23 extended centerline and 2.7 miles from shore with the shoreline being abeam to the right side of the aircraft.) At 1459:53, the LC asked the pilot, "are you straight in still?" The pilot responded, "ah, yes sir." The LC instructed the pilot to "keep your speed up as much as feasible cleared to land." The pilot acknowledged and stated, "peddling as fast as I can." At 1500:38, the LC instructed N99063 to "continue on the downwind, advise when you see a red low wing aircraft straight in on final." The pilot of N99063 responded, "looking for traffic." (Radar data showed that N99063 was established on the downwind leg, approximately 0.7 miles due north of the approach end of runway 23. The radar also showed that N5ZA was 2.3 miles northeast of the shoreline, 6.3 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) At 1500:50, the pilot stated, "zulu alpha's the white zlin." The LC acknowledged and transmitted to N99063, "it'll be a white low wing aircraft." The pilot of N99063 acknowledged. At 1501:16, the pilot of N99063 stated, "negative traffic," and asked the LC to advise her when to turn for her base leg. The LC acknowledged. (Radar data showed that N99063 was 1.75 miles northeast of the approach end of runway 23 and that N5ZA was 1.4 miles northeast of the shoreline, 5.3 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) At 1501:41, the LC asked the pilot of N5ZA how far out he was from the shoreline; the pilot responded that he was "just crossing the shoreline." (Radar data showed that N5ZA was 0.8 miles from the shoreline, approximately 4.8 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) At 1502:09, the LC asked the pilot of N99063 if she saw N5ZA yet. The pilot of N99063 responded, "negative." The LC asked the pilot of N99063, "have you passed the shoreline?" The pilot of N99063 replied, "gettin there." (Radar data showed that N99063 was 1.6 miles from the shore along the extended downwind leg for runway 23's right-hand traffic pattern.) At 1502:16, the LC instructed N99063 to "start your base leg now." The pilot of N99063 acknowledged. (Radar data showed N5ZA crossing the shoreline, 4 miles from the approach end of the runway 23. As the pilot of N99063 turned onto base leg, then final approach, the airplane was slightly in front of N5ZA.) At 1503:19, the pilot of N5ZA reported, "negative contact with the cessna in front of us." (Radar data showed that N5ZA was approximately 2.6 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) The LC replied, "you should be number one, Bob." At 1503:27, the pilot of N5ZA stated, "then we have the traffic in sight, thanks." (Radar data showed that N99063 established on final 2.5 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) At 1503:38, the LC instructed the pilot of N99063 to "advise when you turn final." The pilot of N99063 reported that she was on final approach. The LC said, "thank you." At 1503:53, the LC asked N5ZA, "do you see a cessna in front of you?" At 1504:00, the pilot of N5ZA responded, "[N5ZA] just had a midair." The LC responded, "we just saw that." (The last radar target from N5ZA was received at 1503:59 and showed that N5ZA was 2 miles from the approach end of runway 23.) Both airplanes came down in the city of Zion, Illinois. N5ZA impacted into the roof of a hospital, and subsequently exploded. N99063 struck a tree and a sidewalk before coming to rest on a residential street. Examinations of the wreckage of both airplanes revealed no anomalies.

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the other airplane. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's poor visual lookout, and the airport control tower local controller's failure to provide effective sequencing.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

Wikipedia article: 2000 Illinois mid-air collision

Article: 2000 Illinois mid-air collision
Revision: 1357593866 · 2026-06-03 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata: Q24944527
Licence: Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

NTSB record CHI00MA066

Event ID: 20001212X20469
Case number: CHI00MA066
Dataset: historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256: 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74

Where each value comes from

Record: Wikipedia article "2000 Illinois mid-air collision" (page 47401891, revision 1357593866); merged with NTSB case CHI00MA066 (events / aircraft)
Date: NTSB record CHI00MA066: events.ev_date
Place and country: Wikipedia infobox: site; country from NTSB record CHI00MA066
Map position: NTSB record CHI00MA066: events decimal coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route: NTSB record CHI00MA066: aircraft; gaps from Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation: NTSB record CHI00MA066: operated under Part 91: General Aviation
Fatalities: Wikipedia: Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities (the NTSB record states no total)
Ground fatalities: NTSB record CHI00MA066: events.inj_f_grnd
Summary: Wikipedia infobox: summary

Source notes (2)

One occurrence in two sources, merged: the Wikipedia article "2000 Illinois mid-air collision" and NTSB case CHI00MA066, matched by the same aircraft registration and date. For this US event the NTSB's values are used where the two differ; each value names its source.
The date is the UTC date the NTSB stores; the local date may be a day earlier.