# NTSB DEN02LA006: Pilatus PC-12, N269AF, Casper, WY, October 24, 2001

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: October 23, 2001, 21:30 local (Oct 24, 2001, 03:30 UTC)
- Place: Casper, WY
- Coordinates: 42.900276, -106.458053
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.9003&lon=-106.4581&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report April 15, 2003
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration
- NTSB case key (mKey): 53719
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN02LA006
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53719/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA006

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from another parked airplane while taxiing.  Contributing factors were the night light conditions, and the pilot's fatigue from a long day.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- On ground/water collision with object, taxi
  - fatigue, pilot in command (contributing factor)
  - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause)
  - light condition - night (contributing factor)

## Analysis

The pilot said that he was taxiing to his hangar on a freshly resurfaced black ramp with no painted taxi lines.  He said it was night, and the parking ramp was very dark.  The airplane's left wing struck a parked airplane, bending three of the accident airplane's ribs.  The pilot said, in a telephone conversation, that he had been awake since approximately 0430 that morning.

## Factual narrative

On October 23, 2001, at approximately 2130 mountain daylight time, a Pilatus PC-12, N269AF, was substantially damaged when it collided with a parked airplane while taxiing on the ramp at Natrona County International Airport, Casper, Wyoming.  The commercial pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was not injured.  M&N Equipment LLC was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91.  Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local night flight that was terminating at the time of the accident.

The pilot said that he was taxiing to his hangar on a freshly resurfaced black ramp with no painted taxi lines.  He said it was night, and the parking ramp was very dark.  The airplane's left wing struck a parked airplane, bending three of the accident airplane's ribs.  The pilot said he had been awake since approximately 0430 that morning.

Two National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report forms (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) were sent to the pilot, and the Investigator-in-Charge talked with the pilot twice on the telephone.  The pilot chose not to respond in writing.

## Aircraft

- Registration: N269AF (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: Pilatus PC-12
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 297
- Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B 1200 horsepower turbo prop
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Positioning, Part 91
- Registered owner: M&N Equipment LLC.
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: CPR, Casper, WY
- Airport: CPR, Natrona County Intl Arpt

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; injuries: minor; flight engineer, commercial, flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; flight hours: 13,700 total, 1 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night
- Wind: 280° at 23 knots, gusting 28
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 36 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter: 29.71 inHg
- Observed at: CPR

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20011023030919A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011023030919A), Oct 23, 2001: Pilats PC1245, Casper, WY, No damage. (-23) Pilot collided with a parked aircraft while taxiing on the ramp at night.

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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