- Date
- November 8, 2023, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Worth, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N9568UGrumman American Avn. AA-5
- Defining event
- Taxi: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA North Texas FSDO
- FAA report
- 20231108021289A
- Case key
- 193362
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The distraction of the pilot during the taxi, resulting in a ground collision.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after landing at the airport, he was taxing the airplane on the dry asphalt. During the taxi, he observed a motorcycle on the taxiway coming toward the airplane. While focusing on the motorcycle, the right wing impacted several garbage cans, the airplane turned to the right, and impacted a hangar door. The airplane came to rest upright, and the pilot was able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. This was the pilot’s first visit to the airport, and he reported he did not visually observe the garbage cans during the taxi, as they were in an area that was shadowed from a hangar. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement for the airport, the remarks section states, “uncontrolled vehicle tfc inv of hangars and on twys.”
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9568U
- Reported as
- Grumman American Avn. AA-5 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5A-0068
- Built
- 1975
- Airframe hours
- 2,123
- Engine
- Lycoming Engines O-320-E2G, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Centex Cheetahs LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 2023
- Airport
- T67 · Hicks Airfield
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- October 3, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,806 total · 471 in this make and model · 778 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 13 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- KAFW, 6 nm away
- METAR
- KAFW 081353Z 18013G22KT 10SM FEW015 20/17 A2984 RMK AO2 SLP095 T02000172
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 13, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.1 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.
Other investigations on N9568U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.