20111225029979I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Mooney M20J · Gallatin, TN · December 25, 2011

Date
December 25, 2011 · 20:00 local
Place
Gallatin, TN
Airport
Sumner County Regioal
Phase of flight
Taxi
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N201BV
Reported as
Mooney M20J
Reported engine
Lycoming I0360 series
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
720 total150 in this make and model7 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.

The pilot landed on runway 17, taxied off the runway and was transitioning to the ramp. The bright lights from the hangars facing the runway "blinded" the pilot and produced poor visibility and with no taxiway lights to guide him, he departed the taxiway into the grass and hit a taxiwaylight with his propeller, damaging the propeller and taxilight.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT LANDED ON RUNWAY 17, TAXIED OFF THE RUNWAY AND WAS TRANSITIONING TO THE RAMP. THE BRIGHT LIGHTS FROM THE HANGARS FACING THE RUNWAY "BLINDED" THE PILOT AND PRODUCED POOR VISIBILITY AND WITH NO TAXIWAY LIGHTS TO GUIDE HIM, HE DEPARTED THE TAXIWAY INTO THE GRASS AND HIT A TAXIWAYLIGHT WITH HIS PROPELLER, DAMAGING THE PROPELLER AND TAXILIGHT.