- Date
- August 24, 1996, 15:54 local (22:54 UTC)
- Place
- S. Lake Tahoe, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N474BDiamond Aircraft Industries Katana DA20-A1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960824025269A
- Case key
- 29546
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 inadequate use of the brakes, which resulted in loss of directional control while taxiing in a non-movement area.
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 pilot said that as he attempted a right turn from parking, his right hydraulic brake did not produce the braking action he was expecting. As a result, his aircraft turned wide and struck the spinner of a Cessna with its left wing tip. As his aircraft continued in the turn, it struck the propeller of a Piper with its left wing. After the second impact, his aircraft yawed left until it struck the left wing of the Piper with its spinner. After the accident, the Katana's brake system was inspected and was found to operate properly. The Katana requires the use of differential braking to steer the aircraft during ground taxi operations.
Factual narrative
On August 24, 1996, at 1554 hours Pacific daylight time a Katana DA20-A1, N474B, taxied into two parked aircraft in a non-movement area at the South Lake Tahoe, California, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; however, neither the private pilot nor his passenger was injured. The aircraft was rented from American Aviation Flight Schools, Inc., for a personal flight when the accident occurred. The flight originated at the Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa, California, about 1138 with a stopover in South Lake Tahoe. Instrument flight conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was on file.
The pilot reported that when he attempted a right turn from parking, his right hydraulic brake did not produce the braking action he expected. During the attempt, the aircraft turned wide and struck the spinner of a Cessna 182, N3161S, with its left wing tip. As it continued in the turn, the aircraft next struck the propeller of a Piper PA-24-250, N7604P, with the landing light located on the leading edge of its left wing. After the second impact, the aircraft yawed about 90 degrees to the left until its spinner struck the left wing of the Piper.
After the accident, the pilot measured the displacement from the taxiway centerline to the spinner of the parked Piper as 22 feet 6 inches. The wing span of the accident aircraft was reported by the pilot to be about 35 feet.
According to the operator, the aircraft had undergone an annual and a 100-hour inspection the day before the accident. The pilot stated that he believed he was the first person to rent the aircraft after the completion of the inspection.
On August 30, 1996, an FAA airworthiness inspector examined the Katana's brake system. He reported that the brakes operated properly. He also noted that the Katana requires the use of differential braking to steer the aircraft during ground taxi operations.
The pilot was issued a private pilot certificate on August 19, 1996.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N474B
- Reported as
- Diamond Aircraft Industries Katana DA20-A1 (KATANA DA2)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 10040
- Airframe hours
- 520
- Engine
- Rotax 912, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- American Aviation Flt Sch Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 23, 1996 · 69 hours before
- Departed
- TVL
- Destination
- STS · Santa Rosa, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- TVL · Lake Tahoe
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 60 total · 59 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TVL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.