1973 Sunnyvale mid-air collision

One of the aircraft involved was 157332, a Lockheed P-3C Orion operated by the US Navy built in 1970. It was assigned to Patrol Squadron 47. The other was N711NA, a Convair CV-990-30A-5 Coronado operated by NASA. The aircraft was built in 1961 and was modified into a flying observatory. The modifications included optically refined windows in the upper fuselage. The aircraft was nicknamed "Galileo". == Accident ==

The Orion departed for a training flight five and a half hours prior to the accident. The plane was flying over the ocean off Big Sur and then returned to Moffet Field to perform touch-and-go landings on runway 32L, which it continued to do for the next hour and a half. The CV-990 was returning from a two-hour flight over Monterey Bay where it was testing a system for surveying sea mammals. The weather at the airport was good, with great visibility. At 14:46 local time, the CV-990 was cleared for approach to runway 32R. Three minutes later, the CV-990 was cleared to approach runway 32L, the runway the Orion was performing touch-and-go landings on. The pilot of the CV-990 replied "32L, thank you", and the pilot of the P-3 stated "...touch-and-go left side." == Cause ==

The collision was a result of mistakes on part of the approach controller. The controller cleared the CV-990 for approach to a runway that the P-3 was already approaching. The crew of the CV-990 did not question this runway change. == References ==