# Incident 20080928852679I: Piper PA34200T, West Mifflin, PA, September 28, 2008

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 28, 2008, 06:45 local time
- Place: West Mifflin, PA
- Airport: Allegheny County
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Taxi
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.3544° N, 79.9290° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ALLEGHENY COUNTY (AGC), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3544&lon=-79.9290&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3979J, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3979J) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-34-200T (registry code 7103406, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA34200T
- Reported engine: CONT IO360*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,000 total, 2,500 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080928852679I

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2008, AT APPROXIMATELY 0650 EASTERN TIME, A PIPER  PA-34-200T, N3979J, CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, OPERATED BY A MR.  FRANCIS J. PHILIPS, DEPARTED TAXIWAY ALPHA AT THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT  (KPIT) WHILE TAXING TO RUNWAY 28 IN DENSE FOG. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK TAXIWAY  ALPHA SIGN NUMBER 81. AFTER STRIKING THE SIGN, THE AIRCRAFT WAS TAXIED  BACK TO THE RAMP WITHOUT INCIDENT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT OR  PASSENGER. AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THE RIGHT NOSE GEAR DOOR WAS DAMAGED.  THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FUSELAGE NEAR THE RIGHT NOSE GEAR DOOR HAD MINOR  DAMAGE. THE RIGHT PROPELLER HAD DAMAGE TO THE TIPS. THE RIGHT ENGINE  COWLING HAD A PUNCTURE HOLE. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING BETWEEN  THE ENGINE AND FUSELAGE HAD MINOR DAMAGE. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE RIGHT WING  HAD MINOR DAMAGE. THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE INBOARD SECTION OF THE RIGHT  FLAP HAD A SMALL UPWARD CREASE. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE INBOARD SECTION OF  THE RIGHT FLAP HAD MINOR DAMAGE. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HORIZONTAL  STABILIZER HAD MINOR DAMAGE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE AREA AROUND TAXIWAY ALPHA SIGN NUMBER 81 SHOWED THREE MARKS CONSISTENT WITH THREE LANDING GEAR TIRES IN THE GRASS. THE TIRE  TRACKS WERE PARALLEL WITH TAXIWAY ALPHA AND THE CENTER TRACK (NOSE WHEEL)  LEAD TO THE CENTER OF THE CONCRETE FOUNDATION OF THE SIGN. AN EXAMINATION  OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY REVEALED  DAMAGE TO THE SIGN CONSISTENT WITH A PROPELLER STRIKE.

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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