# Incident 19970518014679I: Piper PA28161, Robbinsville, NJ, May 18, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 18, 1997, 16:05 local time
- Place: Robbinsville, NJ
- Airport: Trenton-Robbinsville Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.2139° N, 74.6018° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at TRENTON-ROBBINSVILLE (N87), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2139&lon=-74.6018&mi=10
- Aircraft: N40JA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N40JA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-161 (registry code 7102803, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28161
- Reported engine: LYC O320D3G
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 406 total, 185 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970518014679I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON 5-18-97 DOUGLAS R. SCHATZ WAS TAXIING PIPER N40JA AT ROBBINSVILLE AIRPORT (N87). PILOT BECAME DISTRACTED BY A GROUP OF SPECTATORS. SPECTATORS WERE VIEWING STATIC DISPLAYS OF AIRCRAFT. AS PILOT WAS ON TAXI PROGRESS, HE BECAME CONCERNED AS TO HOW CLOSE PEOPLE WERE TO SIDES OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE LEFT WING TIP RAN DOWN THE SIDE OF THE UPPER PORTION OF A SMALL TRUCK PARKED IN GRASS ALONG SIDE OF TAXIWAY. THE WING TIP IMPACTED THE SMALL TRAILER ATTACHED TO IT. THE TRUCK AND TRAILER WERE POSITIONED ON THE GRASS 2 FEET FROM LEFT EDGE OF TAXIWAY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON THE CENTERLINE ACCORDING TO THE PILOT REPORT. FOLLOWING COLLISION, PILOT STOPPED AIRCRAFT AND INSPECTED DAMAGE. INCIDENT CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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