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20080506835799I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Beech C90A · San Jose, CA · May 6, 2008

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
May 6, 2008 · 13:00 local
Place
San Jose, CA
Airport
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International
Phase of flight
Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N8096U
Reported as
Beech C90A
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
10,300 total1,100 in this make and model35 in the last 90 days
N8096URegistered now · Beech C90AS/N LJ-1326 · Built 1993Airframe modelBeech C90AEngine modelPratt & Whitney PT6A seriesTurbo-prop

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)The pilot-in-command (PIC) landed on runway 11 at San Jose international airport (ksjc) at approximately 1300 hours PDT. As he turned off the runway at taxiway foxtrot, the king air's right propeller struck a taxiway light on the right edge of the taxiway. The sole occupant of the airplane was not injured. The PIC had angled his plane from the centerline of the runway toward the right edge of the runway instead of staying on the yellow guideline to the taxiway centerline. He did this to exit the runway quickly without applying lateral g-force to the landing gear. The PIC now realized that this was a mistake because his chosen ground track placed the airplane's right propeller over the unseen taxiway light. The taxiway light was partially camouflaged by dark green weeds which were growing adjacent to the light. Because the airplane was equipped with longer than standard propeller blades, the taxiway light was struck by one blade of the propeller. The impact damaged both the light and the propeller blade. The PIC was counseled on the importance of keeping his aircraft on the centerline of both the runway and taxiway. Although this incident was caused by the pilot's decision to deviate from the centerline of the taxiway, contributing to the incident was the airport's failure to remove the weeds which partially camouflaged the taxiway light. The weeds have been brought to the attention of the airport management.

As the FAA filed it

(-23)THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) LANDED ON RUNWAY 11 AT SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KSJC) AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 HOURS PDT. AS HE TURNED OFF THE RUNWAY AT TAXIWAY FOXTROT, THE KING AIR'S RIGHT PROPELLER STRUCK A TAXIWAY LIGHT ON THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE TAXIWAY. THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT INJURED. THE PIC HAD ANGLED HIS PLANE FROM THE CENTERLINE OF THE RUNWAY TOWARD THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY INSTEAD OF STAYING ON THE YELLOW GUIDELINE TO THE TAXIWAY CENTERLINE. HE DID THIS TO EXIT THE RUNWAY QUICKLY WITHOUT APPLYING LATERAL G-FORCE TO THE LANDING GEAR. THE PIC NOW REALIZED THAT THIS WAS A MISTAKE BECAUSE HIS CHOSEN GROUND TRACK PLACED THE AIRPLANE'S RIGHT PROPELLER OVER THE UNSEEN TAXIWAY LIGHT. THE TAXIWAY LIGHT WAS PARTIALLY CAMOUFLAGED BY DARK GREEN WEEDS WHICH WERE GROWING ADJACENT TO THE LIGHT. BECAUSE THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH LONGER THAN STANDARD PROPELLER BLADES, THE TAXIWAY LIGHT WAS STRUCK BY ONE BLADE OF THE PROPELLER. THE IMPACT DAMAGED BOTH THE LIGHT AND THE PROPELLER BLADE. THE PIC WAS COUNSELED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING HIS AIRCRAFT ON THE CENTERLINE OF BOTH THE RUNWAY AND TAXIWAY. ALTHOUGH THIS INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY THE PILOT'S DECISION TO DEVIATE FROM THE CENTERLINE OF THE TAXIWAY, CONTRIBUTING TO THE INCIDENT WAS THE AIRPORT'S FAILURE TO REMOVE THE WEEDS WHICH PARTIALLY CAMOUFLAGED THE TAXIWAY LIGHT. THE WEEDS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE AIRPORT MANAGEMENT.