- Date
- September 26, 2000, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Broomfield, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N9281WPiper PA-28-235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 6, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000926015569A
- Case key
- 50344
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 failure to maintain adequate clearance from a vehicle parked beside the ramp while he was taxiing the aircraft from landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While taxiing from landing at the completion of a cross-country flight, the aircraft was taxiing through a NOTAM'd non-movement construction area on the ramp and struck a small tractor which was parked on the grass adjacent to the ramp. The collision ruptured the left wing tip fuel tank causing a fuel spill.
Factual narrative
On September 26, 2000, at 1100 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, N9281W, sustained substantial damage while taxiing from landing at Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, when it struck a tractor in a non-movement area. The certified flight instructor and sole occupant was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this personal flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Boulder, Colorado, at 1030.
According to the accident notification from Jefferson County Air Traffic Control Tower, the collision ruptured a wing tip fuel tank causing a fuel spill.
According to the pilot, he was taxiing on the ramp and maneuvering between a Mooney and a tractor (which was parked on the grass beside the ramp). The pilot said his left wing struck the tractor rupturing the wing tip fuel tank. The pilot reported the collision to ground control and shut down the aircraft. Ground crew used an absorbent material to soak up the fuel and the aircraft was towed to parking. The tractor was not damaged, but did have fuel spilled on it.
Documents supplied by The New Piper Aircraft Company provided information that on the PA-28-235, the fuel tanks consist of one aluminum tank located in the inboard leading edge section of each wing plus fiberglass tanks located in each wing tip. The main tanks have a capacity of 25 gallons each and the tip tanks each hold a maximum of 17 gallons. The attached diagrams, supplied by Piper Aircraft, provide information that the tip tanks are an integral part of the wing structure.
According to Jefferson County Airport personnel, the non-movement construction area was advertised under a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9281W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-235
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-10956
- Airframe hours
- 4,150
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-B4B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James F. Kettering
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 24, 2000 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- IV5 · Boulder, CO
- Destination
- BJC
- Airport
- BJC · Jefferson County
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,290 total · 500 in this make and model · 1,180 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BJC, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.