Pilot's 2nd Fatal Accident

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...

"Richard Russell" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 May 2004 13:02:15 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Aside from the fact that this lad should perhaps find a safer
pastime...

Did he really land his Cessna 170, after a mid-air collision, with his
engine no longer attached to the airframe -- by turning on the
*auto-pilot*?

Good question. The report was ambiguous. It could be interpreted
that he was putting on the autopilot just prior to the crash.
Depending on how you interpret what was written, the autopilot could
have saved his butt or contributed to the cause of the accident by
providing a distraction. The investigation will sort it all out, I'm
sure.

Sounds a bit like this one where the pilot was looking down (to engage the
autopilot??) and had a collision.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...11X09798&key=1

That is a different accident. The accident in question here happened near
Tenino, WA on Sunday and involved a collision between a Cessna 210 and a
170.