March 14, Stuart, Fla. / Cessna 310 and Beech Bonanza

At about 14:35 EST, a Cessna 310D and a Beech A36 collided while approaching to land on runway 07 at Witham Field. The pilot of the 310 and the two occupants of the Bonanza were uninjured. An IFR flight plan was on file for the Bonanza and visual conditions existed. The pilot of the 310 skirted the class C airspace at Palm Beach and was told to report a four-mile right base for runway 7. Then he was cleared for the visual approach. He reported hearing Witham Tower clear the Bonanza for the GPS runway 12 approach. After he was established on final at about 800 feet, he heard a loud noise and saw the Bonanza on his right. He landed and found the fuel cap of the left wing tip tank was missing, and that the top of his left wing tip tank was damaged. The Bonanza pilot said he had requested the GPS runway 12 approach and, about seven to 10 miles from Witham, he was handed off to the Witham Tower and cleared for the visual approach. When he heard and felt the impact, he attempted to assess the damage to his airplane and did a 360-degree turn to reenter the approach. At that time the controller radioed asking who he was and what his intentions were. The pilot identified his aircraft and the tower told him to complete the 360-degree turn and land behind the 310. The pilot said the tower had not spoken to him until then and that his attempts to establish contact had been unsuccessful due to radio traffic. The Bonanza suffered damage to the underside of the left wing.