20250605008049I

Investigation. I was notified by FAA email that on June 5, 2025, at 16:00L EDT (20:00Z), after completion of a local VFR flight to tour the hudson river, from Leesburg Executive Airport, VA (kjyo), the commercial rated pilot was operating a Cirrus SR-22, when his left wing hit a parked car while taxiing to return to his hangar. There was no violation. Although the pilot reported the incident to airport management, a 49 CFR part 830.5 report was not required and was not made. The FAA learned of this incident on June 25, 2025.

Root cause analysis (rca). Pilot was taxiing south in the non-movement area on the northeast side of the leessburg executive airport hangars. There is a marked taxiway, but it is not controlled by the tower and is not charted on the airport diagram. While on the centerline of the marked taxiway, the pilot noticed a row of automobiles parked next to the hangar and a single automobile parked in the grass in the vicinity opposite hangar 9. The pilot was taxiing south to his hangar, hangar 12. He was concerned that he might not have adequate clearance to taxi between the vehicles, so he stopped his taxi.

The pilot noticed that there were several people in the vicinity of the open hangar door and the pilot believed that they would assist him in providing clearance with the parked cars as he continued his taxi.

Believing he was too close to the vehicles parked along the hangars, the pilot offset his taxi several feet left (east) of the painted taxi marking. Consequently, the pilot’s left wing and pitot tube struck the vehicle parked in the grass approximately 12 to 18 inches from the left wingtip. This caused limited damage to the parked vehicle, a scrape on the left wingtip, and it bent and broke off the pitot tube. Damage to the vehicle was later determined to be approximately $4,333 including materials and labor.

The pilot was in error in misjudging the distance to the parked vehicle due to the offset from the marked taxi centerline. Additionally, he assumed that the people standing next to the hangar were assisting him as “wing walkers”, however, an interview with the lessee of the hangar and the owner of the parked car indicated that no one viewed themselves as assisting the pilot in maintaining clearance. Finally, the mixture of parked vehicles on or near a taxiway associated with the hangars created potential for a conflict between the two.

There are more than one potential root causes:

Category: g - national airspace system

Subcategory: G1 – facilities: infrastructure or equipment (e.g., signage, markings, lighting, pavement condition) the painted taxi line in a non-controlled non-movement area may indicate clearance from obstacles that may not be available under certain circumstances.

Another possible contributing factor/root cause:

Category: b – human performance

Subcategory: B3 – mistakes: faulty planning. During taxi, one should not assume that bystanders will provide clearance without appropriate coordination, briefings or prior communication.

Another possible contributing factor/root cause:

Category: d – situational awareness

Subcategory: D1 – distractions: (e.g., people and vehicles standing and parked next to hangar on right side, versus vehicle parked off the pavement in the grass on the left side). Moving left to avoid vehicles on the right side and focusing on the right side possibly distracted the pilot from equally focusing on the obstacle on the left side.