# Accident 19970917027679A: Piper PA18A150, Bainbridge, GA, September 17, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 17, 1997, 10:30 local time
- Place: Bainbridge, GA
- Airport: Decatur County Industrial Airp
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.9716° N, 84.6369° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at DECATUR COUNTY INDUSTRIAL AIR PARK (BGE), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.9716&lon=-84.6369&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3985P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3985P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-18A 150 (registry code 7101837, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18a-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA18A150
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97LA247](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA247) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970917027679A

## Narrative

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

STRUCK BY A TRACTOR ON RAMP WHILE TAXIING TO FUEL PUMP. TRACTOR WAS SWEEPING RAMP. (-23) TRACTOR WITH SWEEPER ATTACHED RAN INTO THE AIRCRAFT WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS TAXIING ON THE AIRPORT TARMAC. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. NO INJURIES. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT THE TRACTOR WAS BROWN AND BLENDED WITH THE BACKGROUND OF TREES AND BROWN GRASS. IN REALITY, THE TRACTOR IS BLUE AND WAS WELL MARKED. IF THE PILOT HAD BEEN MAKING DECENT CLEARING TURNS AS REQUIRED IN THIS MODEL AIRCRAFT, THERE IS NO LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR THE COLLISION TO DATE. THE DRIVER OF THE TRACTOR WAS A COUNTY INMATE AND HAD RECEIVED NO FORMAL TRAINING FROM THE AIRCRAFT AUTHORITY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA97LA247](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97LA247), Sep 17, 1997: Piper PA-18A-150 (N3985P), Bainbridge, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the failure of the pilot to see and avoid the tractor resulting in an on ground collision. A factor in this accident was the limited forward visibility from the cockpit of the airplane.

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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