NTSB blames Air Force in crash

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A deadly midair collision between an F-16 and a small civilian plane two years ago was the fault of an Air Force pilot whose plane was not involved, investigators said.The Nov. 16, 2000 crash occurred because Lt. Col. James Parker failed to watch what was going on around him as he searched for the practice bombing range at Avon Park near Bradenton, The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report released Friday. Parker was piloting one of two F-16 Fighting Falcons in the area on a training mission from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

Parker's wingman, Capt. Greg Kreuder, was looking up and to his right to follow his commander and never saw the four-seat Cessna 172 before he slammed into it.

Jacques Olivier, the 57-year-old pilot of the private plane, was killed instantly.

Kreuder ejected from his crippled fighter and was uninjured. The jet crashed and burned in a wooded area.

Contributing factors, the NTSB said, were Parker's decision to discontinue talking to air traffic controllers, his failure to notice that his navigation systems were improperly reporting his position by as much as 13 miles, and his violation of entering controlled civilian airspace without permission.

The Safety Board also faulted air traffic controllers at Tampa International Airport for not recognizing both planes in the Air Force formation.

The NTSB's conclusions differ from the judgment of Air Force investigators, who released their findings four months after the accident.

While Air Force investigators acknowledged that their pilots were not where they were supposed to be, were flying too fast and were not in contact with controllers, they said the civilian pilot and air traffic controllers had to share responsibility.