Boeing KC-135A and amateur-built AA-1 mid-air collision near Glendale, Arizona, March 13, 1982
On March 13, 1982 at about 5:51 pm local time, 2 aircraft, Boeing KC-135A (KC135) and amateur-built AA-1 (N6160L), were involved in a mid-air collision near Glendale, Arizona. 6 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 13, 1982 · about 5:51 pm local time
- Place
- Glendale, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident · mid-air collision
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft 1
- Boeing KC-135A
- Registration
- KC135 · no longer on the register · serial 571489
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · rules the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft 2
- Amateur-built AA-1
- Registration
- N6160L · no longer on the register · serial AA1-0360
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative for the Boeing KC-135A final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE USAF KC-135 WAS ON AN IFR FLT PLAN & EXECUTING A TACAN 3L APCH TO LUKE AFB. THE AA-1 HAD DEPARTED SKY HARBOUR ARPT &HAD BEEN RELEASED BY PHOENIX TRSA. THE AA-1 WAS HEADING WESTERLY IN AIRSPACE DESIGNATED AS A SPECIAL TRAFFIC AREA & WAS REQUIRED TO HAVE BEEN AT OR BELOW 2,000 FT MSL. A PLT OF ANOTHER ACFT WHO WAS TRAILING THE AA-1 STATED THAT A LOW BROKENCLOUD COVER WAS ENCOUNTERED & HE HAD TO DESCEND TO ABOUT 2,000 FT TO REMAIN 500 FT BELOW THE BASES. HE STATED THE PLT OFTHE AA-1 DID NOT DESCEND BUT APPEARED TO BE SKIMMING ALONG IN & OUT OF THE BASES OF THE CLOUDS. HE NOTICED THE KC-135 DESCENDING THROUGH THE CLOUD DECK FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY THE COLLISION. THE COLLISION OCCURRED ABOUT 5 MI SOUTH OF LUKE AFB AT AN ALTITUDE OF 2,500 FT MSL. THE LOGBOOK OF THE AA-1 PLT INDICATES THIS WAS HIS FIRST TRIP TO THE PHOENIX AREA. LUKE AFB WAS DEPICTED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SECTIONAL CHART ONLY. VOR AIRWAY #16 WAS SPLIT ALONG AN E-W LINE WITH THE NORTHERN & SOUTHERN HALVES BEING DEPICTED ON EACH SIDE OF THE CHART.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The NTSB's narrative for the amateur-built AA-1 final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE USAF KC-135 WAS ON AN IFR FLT PLAN & EXECUTING A TACAN 3L APCH TO LUKE AFB. THE AA-1 HAD DEPARTED SKY HARBOUR ARPT &HAD BEEN RELEASED BY PHOENIX TRSA. THE AA-1 WAS HEADING WESTERLY IN AIRSPACE DESIGNATED AS A SPECIAL TRAFFIC AREA & WAS REQUIRED TO HAVE BEEN AT OR BELOW 2,000 FT MSL. A PLT OF ANOTHER ACFT WHO WAS TRAILING THE AA-1 STATED THAT A LOW BROKENCLOUD COVER WAS ENCOUNTERED & HE HAD TO DESCEND TO ABOUT 2,000 FT TO REMAIN 500 FT BELOW THE BASES. HE STATED THE PLT OFTHE AA-1 DID NOT DESCEND BUT APPEARED TO BE SKIMMING ALONG IN & OUT OF THE BASES OF THE CLOUDS. HE NOTICED THE KC-135 DESCENDING THROUGH THE CLOUD DECK FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY THE COLLISION. THE COLLISION OCCURRED ABOUT 5 MI SOUTH OF LUKE AFB AT AN ALTITUDE OF 2,500 FT MSL. THE LOGBOOK OF THE AA-1 PLT INDICATED THIS WAS HIS FIRST TRIP TO THE PHOENIX AREA. LUKE AFB WAS DEPICTED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SECTIONAL CHART ONLY. VOR AIRWAY #16 WAS SPLIT ALONG AN E-W LINE WITH THE NORTHERN & SOUTHERN HALVES BEING DEPICTED ON EACH SIDE OF THE CHART.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record for the Boeing KC-135A from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,604 hours in all; 370 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 297,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P & W J-57-P-59W (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
- Operator: Usaf
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ at 7:55 am
- Destination: PHX Phoenix AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 136°F (58°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 am from LUF, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 |
The factual record for the amateur-built AA-1 from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 598 hours in all; 110 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,201 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ at 10:32 am
- Destination: LVK Livermore CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.