# Incident 19981014034229I: Piper PA31350, Phoenix, AZ, October 14, 1998 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 14, 1998 - Place: Phoenix, AZ - Airport: Phoenix Sky Harbor International - Damage: No damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: JIKA - Location: 33.4343° N, 112.0116° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTL (PHX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4343&lon=-112.0116&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3BT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3BT-2024-02-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-31-350 (registry code 7103110, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA31350 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981014034229I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. WHEN CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF PILOT TAXIED TO FAR SIDE OF RUNWAY AND LINED UP ON EDGE LINE RATHER FROM CENTER LINE. STRUCK RUNWAY EDGE LIGHT WITH RIGHT PROP.PILOT STATEMENT:ON OCTOBER 14, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 0430, I WAS TAXIING A PIPER CHIEFTAIN TWIN ENGINE AIRCRAFT, TAIL NUMBER N3BT OPERATING AS AMERIFLIGHT FLIGHT #357, FOR TAKEOFF AT PHX. I WAS WESTBOUND ON TAXIWAY "E" ABEAM "E2" INTERSECTION FOR RUNWAY "8R" AT PHX WHEN THE TOWER ASKED IF I WAS READY FOR TAKE OFF. MY REPLY WAS "YES", WITH A REQUEST FOR AN INTERSECTION TAKEOFF AT "E2". MY REQUEST WAS GRANTED, AND I TURNED ONTO THE RUNWAY. AS I MADE THIS TURN, I HEARD A STRANGE NOISE. FOR SAFETY, I ABORTED THE TAKEOFF AND TAXIED TO PARKING TO INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT. INSPECTION OF THE RIGHT PROPELLER CONFIRMED I HIT SOMETHING. I NOTIFIED PHX GROUND CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENED SO THEY COULD INSPECT THE RUNWAY FOR ANY DEBRIS. WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS PARKED AT THE AMERIFLIGHT MAINTENANCE HANGER, PHX OPS AVIATION SUPERVISOR JOHN SAWYER STOPPED TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE PROPELLER AND ASKED A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. HE STATED THIS WAS THE SECOND INCIDENT INVOLVING AIRCRAFT AND RUNWAY LIGHT ON THE SOUTH RUNWAY (8R/26L) THAT NIGHT. DURING OUR DISCUSSION, I MENTIONED THE DIFFICULTY I HAD SEEING THE LEAD IN LINES AND RUNWAY MARKINGS AND HE AGREED THAT THEY WERE VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE AT THE "E2" AND RUNWAY "8R" INTERSECTION. HE ALSO STATED THE SOUTH RUNWAY IS SCHEDULED FOR REPAINTING THE FOLLOWING NIGHT (OCTOBER 15, 1998). ## Other reports on N3BT (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20110628012469I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110628012469I), Jun 28, 2011: Piper PA-31-350 (N3BT), Burbank, CA, Minor damage. During taxi from amf ramp to rwy 33, turned right on taxiway charlie. In the low-light environment, pilot followed the wrong line and struck a taxi-way light… - [Accident 20081014849739A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20081014849739A), Oct 14, 2008: Piper PA31350 (N3BT), Portland, OR, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot departed pdx at 0805 am on part 135 cargo flight and at 1000 ft MSL noticed left manifold pressure drop 6 inches below right engine, felt a surge… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.