- Date
- September 28, 2004, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N189WCessna 172H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20040928022499A
- Case key
- 60235
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 failure to maintain clearance from a parked aircraft while taxiing. A contributing factor was the student pilot's anxiety attack.
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 52-hour student pilot reported that while taxiing to the parking area after landing, he heard a "loud bang on the left side of the airplane" as the airplane moved to the left. After powering down the airplane, the student pilot exited the airplane and realized the left wing struck a parked aircraft. The student pilot added that he was on his first solo cross-country flight and became overwhelmed with anxiety. The student pilot eventually became lost and decided to land at the first available airport.
Factual narrative
On September 28, 2004, approximately 1300 central daylight time, a Cessna 172H single-engine airplane, N189W, sustained substantial damage following an on ground collision with a parked airplane while taxing after landing at the West Houston Airport (IWS), near Houston, Texas. The student pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Windsock Aviation Inc., of College Station, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 91 instructional flight. The cross-country flight originated from the Easterwood Field Airport (CLL), near College Station, Texas, at approximately 1200, with the intended destination of Weiser Air Park (EYQ), near Houston, Texas.
The 52-hour student pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that while on his first solo cross-country flight from EYQ to CLL, he became overwhelmed with anxiety and wasn't sure where he was. After locating an airport nearby, he decided to land. While taxiing to the parking area after landing at IWS, he heard a "loud bang on the left side of the airplane" as the airplane suddenly moved to the left. After powering down the airplane, the student pilot exited the airplane and realized the left wing struck a parked Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
Examination of the airplane by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, revealed that the left wing spar was bent and the outboard leading edge of the left wing, aileron, and flap were structurally damaged. Examination of airplane that was parked revealed it sustained minor damage to the engine.
At 1253, the automated surface observing system at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), near Houston, Texas, located 19 nautical miles northeast of the accident site, reported wind variable at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, few clouds at 13,000 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet, temperature 88 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 30.02 inches of Mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N189W
- Reported as
- Cessna 172H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17255907
- Airframe hours
- 4,091.7
- Engine
- Continental O-300D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Windsock Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 26, 2004 · 39.2 hours before
- Departed
- CLL · College Station, TX
- Destination
- EYQ · Houston, TX
- Airport
- IWS · West Houston Airport, runway 33, 3,953 × 75 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 52 total · 52 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 52 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- IAH, 19 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.