# Incident 20060816016709I: Mooney M20J, San Luis Obispo, CA, August 16, 2006 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 16, 2006, 20:50 local time - Place: San Luis Obispo, CA - Airport: San Luis Obispo County - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.2373° N, 120.6426° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY RGNL (SBP), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2373&lon=-120.6426&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4361H, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4361H) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mooney M20J (registry code 5870219, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20j) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20J - Reported engine: LYC O360* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 3,835 total, 1,232 in this make and model, 36 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060816016709I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) PILOT'S STATEMENT: ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 16, 2006, I ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (PILOT-IN-COMMAND) FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN TELEPHONICALLY WITH HAWTHORNE FLIGHT SERVICE FSS FOR A NIGHT IFR FLIGHT FROM SAN LUIS OBISPO (KSBP) TO SACRAMENTO MATHER (KMHR). THE KSBP TOWER CLOSED AT 2000 LOCAL TIME. I'D COMPLETED A FULL PREFLIGHT INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO ENGINE START, THEN COMPLETED OBTAINING MY IFR CLEARANCE FROM SANTA BARBARA DEPARTURE, FREQUENCY 127.72. DEPARTURE CONTROL ASSIGNED RUNWAY 29 AS THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY. I PROCEEDED TO TAXI TO RUNWAY 29 VIA TAXIWAY ALPHA. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED AT 2050 HOURS. I'D COMPLETED MY RUN-UP IN THE APPROPRIATE RUN-UP AREA AT THE END OF ALPHA, ADVISING SANTA BARBARA DEPARTURE THAT I WAS READY FOR IFR RELEASE. DEPARTURE CONTROL ADVISED ME TO HOLD SHORT FOR LANDING TRAFFIC ON RUNWAY 11, AND TO EXPECT A 2-3 MINUTE DELAY. WITH RUN-UP COMPLETE, I TAXIED UP TO THE HOLD SHORT LINE AWAITING CLEARANCE FOR TAKEOFF. I HAD NOT YET SWITCHED TO THE CATF ON 124.0. WHILE AWAITING IFR RELEASE I CONTINUED TO REVIEW THE ASSIGNED CREPE THREE DEPATURE PROCEDURE; THEN LOOKED UP TO SEE AN AMERICA WEST REGIONAL JET HOLDING AT THE END ON RUNWAY 11, REALIZING THIS WAS THE LANDING TRAFFIC AND I WAS BLOCKING THEIR EXIT ONTO TAXIWAY ALPHA, RESTRICTING THEIR ABILITY TO CLEAR THE ACTIVE RUNWAY. I DECIDED TO MAKE A 180 DEGREE TURN TO THE RIGHT TO TAXI BACK OUT OF THE WAY OF THE AMERICA WEST FLIGHT ALLOWING THEM TO EXIT THE ACTIVE RUNWAY. DUE TO DARKNESS I DIDN'T HAVE GOOD 90 DEGREE LATERAL VISIBILITY, BUT BELIEVED THAT I HAD SUFFICIENT TAXIWAY WIDTH TO COMPLETE THE RIGHT-HAND 180 DEGREE TURN. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE! I IMMEDIATELY FOUND THAT I HAD LEFT THE TAXIWAY AND WAS MAKING A TURN IN THE DIRT. A SUDDEN VIBRATION BEGAN, WHICH I IMMEDIATELY KNEW WOULD PREVENT CONTINUING THE FLIGHT. I CONTACTED DEPARTURE CONTROL ADVISING THEM I WAS ABORTING THE FLIGHT AND TO CANCEL MY FLIGHT PLAN. I TAXIED BACK TO THE RAMP. UPON INSPECTION, THE DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER WAS EVIDENT THAT I HAD STRUCK EITHER A TAXIWAY SIGN OR TAXIWAY LIGHT. I TIED THE AIRCRAFT DOWN TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING. THE NEXT MORNING, AUGUST 17, 2006, I FILED TELEPHONIC REPORTS OF THE INCIDENT WITH, (I) THE FAA REGIONAL DUTY OFFICER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (II) THE FAA TOWER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (III) KSBP AIRPORT OPERATIONS ^PRIVACY DATA OMI^ AND (IV) S AN JOSE FAA FSDO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ . SUBSEQUENT TO THESE ACTIONS I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE CARRIER AND THE REPAIR SHOPS AT KSBP. ## Other reports on N4361H (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20001014019319I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001014019319I), Oct 14, 2000: Mooney M20J (N4361H), Rialto, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) On oct. 14, 2000 a Mooney a/c N4361H, model M30-J, serial number 24-0720, landed gear up at the Rialto airport, located in Rialto, CA. The pilot was… 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.