# Accident 20010908025439A: Cessna 172N, Pasco, WA, September 8, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 8, 2001, 07:15 local time
- Place: Pasco, WA
- Airport: Tri Cities Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 46.4104° N, 118.8998° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.4104&lon=-118.8998&mi=10
- Aircraft: N426SK, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N426SK) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Pilot certificates: Student
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA01LA169](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA01LA169) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010908025439A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT TAXIED OUT AND COMPLETED RUNUP ADJACENT TO DHC-8 AIRCRAFT. PILOT WAITED FOR 816PH TO DEPART, BELIEVING IT WAS A PASSENGER FLIGHT PREPARING TO LEAVE. WHEN IT DID NOT DEPART PILOT CALLED FOR, AND RECEIVED, A TAKEOFF CLEARANCE. THE PILOT DID NOT KNOW THAT THE DHC-8 WAS CONTROLLED BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, CONDUCTING A MAINTENANCE POWER TEST. AS THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO TAXI IN FRONT OF THE DHC-8 THE PILOT TAXIED BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT AS HE BEGAN TO TAXI THE DHC-8 WAS AT LOW POWER, BUT AS HE TAXIED BEHIND THE AIRCRAFT THE POWER SUDDENTLY INCREASED ON ONE ENGINE, AND HIS AIRCRAFT WAS BLOWN OVER ONTO THE LEFT WING AND NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION YIELDED THAT THE MAINTENANCE CREW ABOARD THE DHC-8 FAILED TO MAINTAIN RADIO COMMUNICATION WITH THE TOWER, AND WAS AT NO TIME AWARE OF THE CESSNA 172 AIRCRAFT IN THEIR PROXIMITY. AN AIRPORT FIRE TRUCK WAS DISPATCHED TO THE DHC-8 TO GET THEIR ATTENTION, FLASHING LIGHTS UNTIL THE CREW LOOKED UP AND RESPONDED. THE MAINTENANCE CREW WAS THEN NOTIFIED THAT THE TOWER HAD BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT THEM.

## 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 SEA01LA169](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA01LA169), Sep 8, 2001: Cessna 172N (N426SK), Pasco, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The DHC-8 maintenance crew's failure to maintain radio contact with the tower during its engine run. Factors included the tower controller not issuing a safety advisory on the DHC-8 engine run to the…

## Other reports on N426SK (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19840609037969I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19840609037969I), Jun 9, 1984: Cessna 172N (N426SK), Palo Alto, CA. Veered off runway on landing rollout. Had a strong crosswind.
- [Accident 19831125069909A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19831125069909A), Nov 25, 1983: Cessna 172 (N426SK), Half Moon Bay, CA, Substantial damage. Taxiing too fast to stop a wing struck a parked aircraft that was incorrectly parked with its wing over taxiway.

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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