# NTSB LAX98LA303: Bellanca 14-13-2, N74457, Santa Rosa, CA, September 22, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 22, 1998, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Santa Rosa, CA - Location: 38.5097° N, 122.8129° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CHARLES M SCHULZ/SONOMA COUNTY (STS), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.5097&lon=-122.8129&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 30, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 43992 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX98LA303 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/43992/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA303 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate visual lookout during taxiing operations. A factor was the pilot's diverted attention while taxiing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, taxi - from landing - airport facilities,taxiway marking - unavailable - visual lookout - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - diverted attention, pilot in command (contributing factor) - light condition - daylight ## Analysis The pilot had just landed his airplane under daylight conditions and was taxiing to the parking area when the airplane struck an unoccupied truck, which was parked in a non-movement area of the airport. The pilot stated that there were no yellow center line markings painted on the taxiway. He said that his attention was directed at the hangar edges and he did not see the truck, which was parked, on the right side of the taxiway. The FAA measured the taxiway and noted that it was more than 60 feet wide, and the truck occupied less than 10 feet on the extreme right side of the taxiway. ## Factual narrative On September 22, 1998, at 1530 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bellanca 14-13-2, N74457, sustained substantial damage after it collided with a parked truck in a nonmovement area of the Santa Rosa, California, airport. The airplane was operated by the owner/pilot under 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured. The truck was not occupied and sustained minor damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The accident occurred as the pilot taxied to the parking area at the conclusion of the flight. The flight originated at Cloverdale, California, about 1510. The pilot told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector in a written statement that he had turned from the parallel taxiway to the ramp taxiway and didn't see any obstructions on the ramp. He stated that the ramp had "just been installed and no yellow line had been painted down the center." The ramp taxiway is bordered on the left by hangers set at a 45-degree angle to the ramp area. The pilot said his "attention was directed at the hangar edges and he did not see the truck . . . on the right side of the taxiway facing toward me." The pilot noted that he was taxiing at "normal" speed, about 5 miles per hour, and his rightwing tip scraped the right side of the truck causing damage to the right wingtip and to the truck. The FAA inspector interviewed the pilot on September 24 and told Safety Board investigators that the pilot agreed that he could have avoided the accident. The pilot admitted to the FAA that he did not see the truck until after impact. The FAA inspector told the Safety Board that at the point of the accident the taxiway is more than 60 feet wide, and the truck occupied less than 10 feet on the extreme right side of the taxiway. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N74457](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N74457-2020-05-29), registration cancelled 2020-05-29, S/N 1570, built 1948 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bellanca 14-13-2 - Registry model: [Bellanca 14-13-2](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-14-13-2) (registry code 1201004) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Franklin 6A4150 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/franklin-6a4150-series) (registry code 27024, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1570 - Engines: Franklin 6A4-165-B3 165 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Lawrence Shapiro - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Departed: 060, CLOVERDALE, CA - Airport: STS, Santa Rosa ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 75; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 1,541 total, 1,287 in this make and model, 1,312 as pilot in command, 25 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,800 ft broken - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19980922025709A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980922025709A), Sep 22, 1998: Blanca 14132, Santa Rosa, CA, Substantial damage. On September 22, 1998, at 15:30 hours PDT, a Bellanca 14-13-2, N74457 sustained substantial damage after it collided with a parked truck in a non-movement area… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.