- Date
- May 3, 2015, 11:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- De Kalb, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N98656Piper J3C-65
- Defining event
- Taxi: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 1, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- FAA report
- 20150503006251A
- Case key
- 91141
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of positional awareness while taxiing, resulting in a collision with a parked and unoccupied airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's difficulty seeing over the nose of the airplane, his preoccupation with trying to control the airplane in the wind, and his minimal experience in the airplane.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot, who was in the rear tandem seat of the tailwheel airplane, had just landed and was taxing to the fuel pumps to refuel. He did not see the parked Beech A36 over the nose of his airplane and collided with the right wing of N4678A. The pilot said the accident could have been prevented if he had followed the taxi line on the tarmac. He also blamed his "less than effective brakes" that didn't help as he tried to control the airplane in the wind. This caused his attention to be diverted and he lost sight of the surrounding obstructions. The pilot had logged a total of 82 flight hours, of which 13 hours were in the accident airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot, who was in the rear tandem seat of the tailwheel airplane, had just landed and was taxing to the fuel pumps to refuel. He did not see the parked Beech A36 over the nose of his airplane and collided with the right wing of N4678A. The pilot said the accident could have been prevented if he had followed the taxi line on the tarmac. He also blamed his "less than effective brakes" that didn't help as he tried to control the airplane in the wind. This caused his attention to be diverted and he lost sight of the surrounding obstructions. The pilot had logged a total of 82 flight hours, of which 13 hours were in the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N98656
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18877
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 1,862
- Engine
- Continental C-65-8F, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Joseph A. Begany
- Registered owner
- Joseph A. Begany
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 28, 2015 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- KEFT · Monroe, WI
- Destination
- KDKB · De Kalb, IL
- Airport
- KDKB · De Kalb Taylor Municipal
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- May 18, 2014
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 82 total · 13 in this make and model · 45 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KDKB
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 26, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.