- Date
- October 14, 2018, 11:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Vergennes, VT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N73345Cessna 172
- Defining event
- Taxi: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20181014019959A
- Case key
- 98492
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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while taxiing.
Findings · 2
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
The pilot reported that, after landing on a 3,000 by 90 ft turf runway, he back taxied on the runway. While back taxiing along the left edge of the runway, he moved his airplane as far to the left as possible to create maximum separation from an airplane that was landing. He recalled that he was focused on the other airplane's landing when his airplane's left wing collided with tall vegetation and a tree. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after landing on a 3,000ft by 90ft turf runway, he back taxied on the runway. During the back taxi, while traveling along the left edge of the runway, he moved as far to the left as possible to create as much separation for an airplane that was landing. He recalled that he was focused on the other airplane's landing when the left wing of his airplane collided with tall vegetation and a tree. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73345
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (M)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17267390
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 6,691.1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-ED2, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Vermont Flight Academy
- Registered owner
- Aviation Mavericks Llc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 2018
- Departed
- BTV · Burlington, VT
- Destination
- B06 · Vergennes, VT
- Airport
- B06 · Basin Harbor
- Equipment
- ADS-B, 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
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 13, 2017
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 476 total · 442 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- KBTV, 18 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 25, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 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.