Report: Student was landing when 2 small planes collided

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — A preliminary report says a student pilot was attempting to land a small plane at a central Florida airport when it collided with another small plane, sending both aircraft crashing into a lake and killing four people. The National Transportation Safety Board says a Piper J-3 Cub seaplane and a Piper PA-28 Cherokee fixed-wing plane were both conducting instructional flights when they collided the afternoon of March 7 over Lake Hartridge near Winter Haven Regional Airport. According to recorded radio transmissions, the student pilot in the PA-28 was performing power-off 180° landing maneuvers. Four seconds after the PA-28 pilot’s final transmission, the plane collided nearly straight on with the J-3. The preliminary report doesn’t assign blame for the crash.