- Date
- January 23, 2015, 12:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Nashua, NH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N35560Cessna 172I
- Defining event
- Taxi: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 7, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150123009109A
- Case key
- 90645
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 student pilot's lack of vigilance during taxi, which resulted in a collision with a parked truck. A factor in the accident was the truck operator's decision to park on the edge of an active taxiway.
Findings · 3
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
According to the flight school operator, the solo, student pilot was directed by air traffic control to taxi via taxiway Charlie and the inner ramp to the parking area. A fence construction company truck was parked on the edge of the active taxiway while the personnel inside the truck were having lunch. As the pilot taxied the airplane past the truck, while on the yellow taxi line, the left wing struck the upper cab of the truck. The pilot reported that she did not see the truck prior to the collision and it was parked in the shadow of a building. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the collision resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The student pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane at the time of the accident. FAA Advisory Circular 91-73B, which provides guidance on single pilot taxi operations, states, "Situational Awareness (SA). When conducting taxi operations, pilots need to be aware of their proximity to other aircraft and vehicles moving on the airport."
Factual narrative
According to the flight school operator, the solo, student pilot was directed by air traffic control to taxi via taxiway Charlie and the inner ramp to the parking area. A fence construction company truck was parked on the edge of the active taxiway while the personnel inside the truck were having lunch. As the pilot taxied the airplane past the truck, while on the yellow taxi line, the left wing struck the upper cab of the truck. The pilot reported that she did not see the truck prior to the collision and it was parked in the shadow of a building. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the collision resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The student pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane at the time of the accident. FAA Advisory Circular 91-73B, which provides guidance on single pilot taxi operations, states, "Situational Awareness (SA). When conducting taxi operations, pilots need to be aware of their proximity to other aircraft and vehicles moving on the airport."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N35560
- Reported as
- Cessna 172I
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17256835
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 8,277
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald L. Emond, doing business as Air Direct Airways Flight Academy
- Registered owner
- Boette Scott
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 31, 2014 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- ORH · Worcester, MA
- Destination
- ASH · Nashua, NH
- Airport
- ASH · Boire Field
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 56 total · 56 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- ASH
Docket · 7
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 2, 2015, 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.