- Date
- September 14, 1990, 17:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N16MBeech D17S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900914039679A
- Case key
- 17990
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
Improper planning/decision by the pilot and inadequate visual lookout by the vehicle driver, which resulted in their failure to assure clearance between the vehicle and aircraft. Factors related to the accident were: sunglare and the pilot's restricted view from the tailwheel equipped aircraft, which resulted in his lack of visual cues.
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
The Beech D17 staggerwing had been on static display drg a pre-airshow activity. When the plt prepared to dep, twr clrd him to taxi to rwy 35R & warned, 'caution vehicles & personnel on the ramp.' A wing walker escorted the acft out of the parking area, then walked away. The plt turned left & bgn taxiing twd the sun at 'walking speed' in an s-turn fashion. The twr ctlr told a king air plt to hold for the D17, then his attn was diverted to otr arpt opns. Shortly thereafter, the D17'S rgt wing hit a fire truck that had been stopped on the twy; this resulted in the acft swerving to the rgt & the prop hitting the truck. The truck driver had stopped on the twy to allow a fireman to take a photograph of the parked U.S. Navy's blue angels. When he looked in his rearview mirror, he saw the D17, but not in time to avoid a collision. The twr supvr said the acdnt occurred in a 'non-movement area' & was not subject to gnd ctl as per ltr of agreement btn the ctl twr & the arpt authority.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16M
- Reported as
- Beech D17S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6765
- Engine
- P&W R-985-14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jacobson, Chris A.
- Destination
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 35R, 10,001 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 663 total · 154 in this make and model · 467 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- APA
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 N16M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.