2021 Colorado mid-air collision

2021 Colorado mid-air collision
Key Lime Air Flight 970 · BB CO LLC N416DJ

Mid-air collision summary
Date	12 May 2021 (12 May 2021)
Summary	Mid-air collision between charter flight and private light aircraft; currently under investigation
Site	Cherry Creek State Park, Arapahoe County, Colorado
Total injuries (non-fatal)	0
Total fatalities	0
Total survivors	3 (on both planes)
First aircraft
A Key Lime Air Swearingen SA226 Metroliner similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Type	Swearingen SA226TC Metroliner
Operator	Key Lime Air
Registration	N280KL
Flight origin	Harriet Alexander Field, Salida, Colorado
Destination	Centennial Airport, Colorado
Passengers	0
Crew	1
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Fatalities	0
Survivors	1
Second aircraft
180px N416DJ, the Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 carbon involved in the accident
Type	Cirrus SR22 GTS G5
Operator	private flight owned by BB CO LLC
Registration	N416DJ
Flight origin	Centennial Airport, Colorado
Destination	Centennial Airport, Colorado
Passengers	1
Crew	1
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Fatalities	0
Survivors	2

The 2021 Colorado mid-air collision occurred on approach to Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado, on 12 May 2021.

Events

At about 10:20 AM local time, Key Lime Air Flight 970, an air charter cargo flight from Salida, Colorado, operated by a Swearingen SA226-TC Metroliner, collided in mid-air with a Cirrus SR22 light aircraft over Cherry Creek State Park in Arapahoe County. The collision destroyed a large section of the cabin of the Metroliner and damaged the empennage, but the pilot—who was the sole aircraft occupant and, based on communications with air traffic control, was initially unaware of the extent of the damage—was able to make a safe landing at Centennial Airport despite the significant damage to the fuselage and subsequent failure of the right-hand engine. The pilot of the Cirrus, which was a private rental aircraft on a local flight from Centennial Airport, deployed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) and made a safe parachute-assisted forced landing near Cherry Creek Reservoir; the pilot and single passenger were not injured. The accident is under investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It was covered heavily by local and national media outlets due in part to the lack of fatalities or injuries to the parties involved, a rare outcome in a midair collision. Aviation news site AVweb dubbed the incident "the Centennial Miracle".