# Accident 20020126001939A: Cessna 172P, Doylestown, PA, January 26, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 26, 2002, 15:40 local time
- Place: Doylestown, PA
- Airport: Doylestown Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.3104° N, 75.1199° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3104&lon=-75.1199&mi=10
- Aircraft: N172P (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Pilot certificates: Student
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD02LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD02LA029) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020126001939A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JANUARY 26, 2002, AT 1540 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 172P, N172P, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH A PARKED FUEL TRUCK WHILE TAXING AT DOYLESTOWN AIRPORT, DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE STUDENT PILOT HAD JUST LANDED AND WAS TAXIING BACK TO THE FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) TO PICK UP HIS INSTRUCTOR. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, HE SAID: "..I WAS TAXIING BACK TO THE FBO WHEN ABOUT 10 PEOPLE STARTED CROSSING THE TAXIWAY. I STOPPED, LETTING THE PEOPLE THROUGH. FROM WHERE I STOPPED I THOUGHT I COULD CLEAR THE FUEL TRUCK. I CONTINUED AFTER THE PEOPLE PASSED. I WAS ABOUT 1-FOOT TO THE LEFT OF THE CENTERLINE AND AS I PASSED THE TRUCK I FELT THE AIRPLANE HIT AND SUDDENLY SWING INTO THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK. AFTER THE COLLISION, I SHUT DOWN THE AIRPLANE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE." IN A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION, A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE'S RIGHT WING TIP CLIPPED THE TRUCK'S RIGHT REAR VIEW MIRROR. THE AIRPLANE THEN PIVOTED TO THE RIGHT, AND THE SPINNER AND PROPELLER COLLIDED WITH THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK. THE INBOARD SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING EXHIBITED EXTENSIVE WRINKLING ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES. THE PILOT REPORTED A TOTAL OF 27.9 FLIGHT HOURS IN SINGLE-ENGINE AIRCRAFT. HE ALSO REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL DEFICIENCIES WITH THE AIRPLANE. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN ASKED HOW THIS ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED, THE PILOT SAID: "MOVING MORE AWAY FROM THE TRUCK AND PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO WHERE THE TRUCK IS." WEATHER REPORTED AT THE AIRPORT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT INCLUDED CLEAR SKIES AND WIND FROM 240 DEGREES AT 6 KNOTS. (-23) ON JANUARY 26, 2002, THE STUDENT PILOT, MARCIN KOZAK, WAS PERFORMING HIS THIRD SUPERVISED SOLO FLIGHT AT DOYLESTOWN AIRPORT (DYL), DOYLESTOWN, PA, USING RUNWAY 23. AFTER LANDING ON RUNWAY 23, MR. KOZAK EXITED THE RUNWAY AND TAXIED NORTH ON THE PARALLEL TAXIWAY. AS HE APPROACHED THE RAMP AREA, HE NOTICED A JET-A FUEL TRUCK PARKED OFF TO HIS RIGHT. MR. KOZAK HELD HIS POSITION FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND DECICED TO ATTEMPT TO PASS THE TRUCK, WHICH WAS FACING HIM. THE RIGHT WING TIP OF THE CESSNA STRUCK THE MIRROR OF THE TRUCK AFTER WHICH THE AIRCRAFT PIVOTED TO THE RIGHT, STRIKING THE TRUCK WIT                      H THE TURNING PROPELLER. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WING SPAR, PROPELLER, NOSE COWLING AND SPINNER. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

## 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 IAD02LA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD02LA029), Jan 26, 2002: Cessna 172P (N172P), Doylestown, PA, substantial damage. Probable cause: pilot's failure to maintain clearance between the airplane and a parked fuel truck while taxing.

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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