For one pilot, survival can be measured in inches

Photos surface on the Internet occasionally that are too strong just to file away. The story these pictures tell is the collision on January 16 this year between a Beech Baron B55 and a Cessna 180K near Tehachapi, Calif. (NTSB ID LAX04 FA095A/B). The Baron pilot, cruise-climbing between 5,500 and 6,500 feet at the moment of impact with the Cessna’s right landing gear, survived the collision and was able to put down on a dirt strip. The Cessna 180K pilot was not so fortunate and died. The entire right wing of the Cessna was found on a hillside near the remainder of the wreckage, according to the NTSB.