GAA17IA083

The airline transport pilot was taxiing the airplane to the parking area and was concerned about an airplane parked on the left side of the taxilane. He maneuvered his airplane right of the taxiway centerline and struck a helicopter parked on the right side of the taxiway. Postincident investigation revealed that the taxilane object free area (TOFA) was 47.5 ft on either side of the taxilane centerline; Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport design standards indicate that the TOFA should have been 57.5 ft on either side of the centerline. Although the parked airplane was within the TOFA, sufficient distance between the airplane and the helicopter remained such that the incident airplane could have taxied safely between them.

***This report was modified on October 23, 2018. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On November 28, 2016, at 2030 Pacific standard time, after landing and after transitioning from taxiway Foxtrot to a taxilane, a Cessna 560 airplane, N22AF, struck a helicopter, N530PJ, that was parked in a non-movement area at Salinas Municipal Airport, Salinas, California. The airplane sustained minor damage to the right-wing tip and the pilot was not injured, but the helicopter required major repair. The airplane was registered to Bill Massa Company Incorporated, Salinas, California, and was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a night visual flight rules flight. The flight originated from Salinas, California, and had returned to Salinas. According to the pilot, he landed the airplane and was taxiing to his hangar. The pilot reported that he used taxiway Foxtrot and made a right turn into the transient parking area heading southeast via the taxilane. He recalled that he was concerned with remaining a safe distance from an airplane that was parked on the left side of the taxilane and turned the airplane to the right, away from the taxilane centerline; the airplane's right wing struck a helicopter that was parked on the right side of the taxilane. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Salinas Municipal Airport is a category B-II airport. FAA Advisory Circular 150/530013A, Airport Design, page 124, Table 4-1 Design Standards Based on Airplane Design Group (ADG), indicates that Group II airports have a 57-ft 6-inch Taxilane Object Free Area (TOFA) on either side of the taxilane centerline. FAA aviation safety inspectors measured the taxilane at Salinas Municipal Airport, and it was 47 ft 6 inches on either side of the taxilane centerline. The airplane that the pilot attempted to avoid was parked on the left side of the taxilane centerline within the limits of the TOFA. The perpendicular distance between the helicopter and the parked airplane was 80 ft (the absolute distance was not measured). The wingspan of the incident airplane was 56 ft 4 in.