20070420010009I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Amtr SPITFIREMK14 · Lakeland, FL · April 20, 2007

Date: April 20, 2007 · 14:30 local
Place: Lakeland, FL
Airport: Lakeland Linder Regional
Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: GBSKP
Reported as: Amtr SPITFIREMK14
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 6,300 total600 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) Pilot was taxiing into the warbird ramp area without ground marshallers. Pilot began a left turn to position the aircraft into a parking space, and the left wing tip hit a parked golf cart. No ground personnel were assisting in positioning and/or parking the airplane. The area was congested, and required an initial downhill taxi with a tight turn to the left. Visibility was poor from the pilot position, and the pilot did not see the cart until impact.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) PILOT WAS TAXIING INTO THE WARBIRD RAMP AREA WITHOUT GROUND MARSHALLERS. PILOT BEGAN A LEFT TURN TO POSITION THE AIRCRAFT INTO A PARKING SPACE, AND THE LEFT WING TIP HIT A PARKED GOLF CART. NO GROUND PERSONNEL WERE ASSISTING IN POSITIONING AND/OR PARKING THE AIRPLANE. THE AREA WAS CONGESTED, AND REQUIRED AN INITIAL DOWNHILL TAXI WITH A TIGHT TURN TO THE LEFT. VISIBILITY WAS POOR FROM THE PILOT POSITION, AND THE PILOT DID NOT SEE THE CART UNTIL IMPACT.