A departing Cessna 150 struck the tail of a landing Cessna Citation CJ4 on Runway 22 at Marion Municipal Airport in Indiana about 5:09 p.m. on Monday, killing the two people aboard the piston single. There were no reported injuries to the pilot or four passengers on board the CJ4, but the collision with the C150 severed the tail from the jet. Marion Municipal is a non-towered airport.
Cessna 150 N5614E is registered to Kyle Hibst, who perished in the accident along with David Wittkamper. Both were reportedly 31-year-old volunteer firefighters at the Pipe Creek Fire Department in Madison County. The piston single was destroyed in a post-crash fire.
According to FAA records, the CJ4 was registered as N511AC and owned by Avis Industrial of Grant, Indiana. An FAA preliminary report listed damage to the jet as “unknown,” but photographs taken by local media show that nearly the whole T-tail was sheared off in the collision and that the right cowling sustained multiple dents.
An NTSB investigation is under way. As a resource, NBAA offers pilots a free online guide for operating business aircraft into non-towered airports.