# Incident 19970729027169I: Dhav DHC3, Grand Canyon, AZ, July 29, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 29, 1997, 13:30 local time
- Place: Grand Canyon, AZ
- Airport: Grand Canyon National Park
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: DYVA
- Location: 35.9524° N, 112.1470° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9524&lon=-112.1470&mi=10
- Aircraft: N245SA (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DHAV DHC3
- People aboard: 17
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 5,800 in this make and model
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970729027169I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: 31 YEAR OLD ATP MAUREEN MEEHAN WAS CAPTAIN OF A SCENIC AIRLINES TWIN OTTER, FLIGHT 704, ON 7/29/97. AT ABOUT 1330 PST SHE WAS BEING DIRECTED BY COMPANY RAMP PERSONNEL INTO A PARKING SPOT AT THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA AIRPORT. DURING THAT OPERATION THE FLIGHT WAS OBSERVED USING POWERPLANT REVERSING FOR REARWARD TAXI, A VIOLATION OF COMPANY OPERATIONS SPECIFICATIONS A(4)(B). THE COMPANY TOOK DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST CAPTAIN MEEHAN, TWO DAYS WITHOUT PAY AND A LETTER IN HER PERSONNEL FILE. THIS INCIDENT WAS ONE OF SEVERAL FACTORS THAT CAUSED THE COMPANY TO SUSPEND THE RAMP SUPERVISOR, BRANDON EVANS, FOR 5 DAYS WITHOUT PAY. FAA WILL TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION IN THIS MATTER. AN EIR WOULD DO MORE DAMAGE TO THE PILOT THAN THE SITUATION WARRANTS. THE AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION CREATED THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THIS INCIDENT TO OCCUR. CAPTAIN MEEHAN ENDED UP IN A TIME COMPRESSED SITUATION HAVING TO TAXI THROUGH PARKED AIRCRAFT THAT WERE NOT ACCURATELY SPOTTED BECAUSE THERE ARE NO TAXILINES AND PARKING SPOT MARKINGS, ONE COMPANY RAMP PERSON SIGNALED STOP BECAUSE OF A FOOT AND A HALF OVER LAP ON HER RIGHT WING TO THE PARKED AIRCRAFT ON HER RIGHT WHEN THE RIGHT WING WALKER WAS GIVING HER "THUMBS UP". COMPANY PILOT CAPTAIN PERKINS HAD WALKED HIS PASSENGERS ONTO THE RAMP WHILE THREE TWIN OTTERS WERE TAXIING IN SO SHE FEATHERED THE LEFT ENGINE TO PROTECT THE PEDESTRIANS, TWO COMPANY OTTERS HAD TAXIED IN BEHIND HER THAT SHE WAS BLOCKING SO IF SHE STOPPED THE SECOND ONE WOULD BE BLOCKING THE ONE AND ONLY TAXIWAY ON GRAND CANYON AIRPORT SO SHE COMMITTED AN OPS SPECS VIOLATION BY BACKING UP THREE FEET TO REALIGN AND MISS THE AIRPLANE ON HER RIGHT THEN PARKED WHERE ASSIGNED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. ARE THE PROBLEMS HERE CAUSED SOLELY BECAUSE CAPTAIN MEEHAN BACKED UP THREE FEET? THIS FILE CONCERNING THE PILOT IS CLOSED WITH NO FURTHER ACTION NECESSARY OR REQUIRED.

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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