Chicago Radio Host And Two Others Die In A Mid Air Collision

On February 8, 2000, at 1504 central standard time, a Moravan Z242L and a Cessna 172P, collided over Zion, Illinois, approximately 2 miles from the approach end of runway 23 at the Waukegan Regional Airport, Waukegan, Illinois. Both airplanes subsequently departed controlled flight, and came down within the city of Zion. The Moravan Z242L impacted into the roof of a hospital. The Cessna 172P struck a tree and a sidewalk before coming to rest on a residential street.

The commercial pilot operating the Moravan Z242L and an airline transport pilot on board the airplane were fatally injured. The student pilot of the Cessna 172P also sustained fatal injuries. The Moravan Z242L cross-country flight originated at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and was en route to Waukegan, Illinois. The Cessna 172P was on a local student training flight which originated at Waukegan, Illinois. 

This was the second midair crash overthe United States in barely 24 hours, following the collision Monday of two single-engine private planes above suburban Los Angeles in which all four people on board were killed. WGN Radio said the station’s top-rated morning talk show host, Bob Collins, 57, was the pilot of a Czech-made Zlin plane that crashed into the roof of the Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, killing him and another person on board.

Bob Collins' success was due not only to his number one ranking in both afternoon and morning drive at WGN Radio. In 1984, he received the Illinois News Broadcasters Association Award for his on-the-spot news coverage of the Chicago El Crash. That same year, Billboard Magazine named him "Personality of the Year,” and in 1987, a Sun Times Reader's Poll chose him as Chicago's "Favorite Morning Radio Personality." Bob's talents were not limited to just radio, however. His work in television had included a special focusing on the Concorde Airliner, as well as a program on the history of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.