Analyze the potential liability of the United States, the military pilot, and the controller for the accident

Wiley Post Airport (PWA) is a tower-controlled public general aviation airport located 7 miles NW of Oklahoma City. An airshow is planned at the airport tomorrow.

Today, a corporate twin turboprop with a pilot and 4 passengers aboard is approaching the airport from the north to land in daylight VFR conditions.

The airport's Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS) information Echo is advising: "Wind 180 degrees at 20 kts, runway 17L in use. Use caution for military jet traffic in the vicinity." The corporate pilot contacts the FAA-operated control tower reporting "Beechcraft 76 Charlie 10 north landing with Echo, runway in sight, request straight-in approach." The tower controller clears the Beech for the straight-in approach to runway 17L, repeating the caution about military jet aircraft in the area, and the pilot acknowledges: "76 Charlie clear straight-in for 17L."

The military traffic is a pair of USAF F-22s that are arriving for static display at tomorrow's airshow. They are also in contact with the tower, but on a different radio frequency than the corporate turboprop, so the corporate pilot can't hear the fighters' communications with the tower, nor can the fighter pilots hear those between the corporate pilot and the tower.

Actually, the fighter pilots are "beating up the field" with a series of very low, fast, and loud passes in tight formation to arouse local awareness of and enthusiasm for tomorrow's airshow, and just for the rush, in a very wide and loose righthand traffic pattern for passes down runway 17R.

About 3 miles out on final approach for landing, the corporate pilot saw the jets pull up from a pass in the distance, then lost sight of them, assuming that they were departing. The tower controller clears 76 Charlie to land 17L, saying nothing more about other traffic.

Meanwhile, the fighters overshoot their turn to final for another fast pass down 17R, and the left-wing of one of the fighters clips the right-wing of the corporate turboprop, shearing it off and damaging the fighter. The corporate aircraft rolls out of control, crashes, and burns in an open field about 3/4 mile short of the runway. There are no survivors. The fighters managed to land safely.