20190926013729I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-28-181 · South Bend, IN · September 26, 2019

Date
September 26, 2019 · 19:50 local
Place
South Bend, IN
Airport
South Bend International
Phase of flight
Taxi
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N28AU
Reported as
Piper PA-28-181
Reported engine
Lycoming O-360-A4M
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
137 total55 in this make and model33 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.

After landing the aircraft, PIC became confused about the airport signage and taxied on to a perimeter road. Upon realizing the error, the PIC attempted to turn the aircraft around to get back to the taxiway. This action resulted in the left wing tip impacting a fence and causing minor damage to the fairing and left wingtip lights.

As the FAA filed it

AFTER LANDING THE AIRCRAFT, PIC BECAME CONFUSED ABOUT THE AIRPORT SIGNAGE AND TAXIED ON TO A PERIMETER ROAD. UPON REALIZING THE ERROR, THE PIC ATTEMPTED TO TURN THE AIRCRAFT AROUND TO GET BACK TO THE TAXIWAY. THIS ACTION RESULTED IN THE LEFT WING TIP IMPACTING A FENCE AND CAUSING MINOR DAMAGE TO THE FAIRING AND LEFT WINGTIP LIGHTS.