- Date
- October 18, 1998, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Palo Alto, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N5550LCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981018047279A
- Case key
- 45150
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 between the airplane's wing and a parked fuel truck.
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 student pilot was on her first solo cross-country flight. She was following the yellow taxiway centerline at her base airport between two rows of parked aircraft. A fuel truck was parked in front of an aircraft conducting a refueling operation and the student misjudged the wing tip clearance from the truck. The right wing collided with the unoccupied fuel truck.
Factual narrative
On October 18, 1998, at 1330 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N5550L, collided with a parked fuel truck while taxiing to parking following landing at the Palo Alto, California, airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the solo cross-country instructional flight. The aircraft was operated by the Palo Alto Flying Club under 14 CFR Part 91, and rented by the student pilot for the flight. The aircraft sustained substantial wing damage, and the unoccupied fuel truck had minor damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured.
An officer of the flying club reported that this was the first solo cross-country for the primary student. She was following the yellow taxiway centerline between two rows of parked aircraft. A fuel truck was parked in front of an aircraft conducting a refueling operation and the student misjudged the wing clearance from the truck.
The pilot reported that while taxiing back for the completion of her first cross-country flight she was watching the yellow centerline when the wingtip of the aircraft hit a fuel truck that was parked in front of an airplane.
The accident was reported to the Safety Board on October 28, 1998, following damage assessment by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5550L
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284352
- Airframe hours
- 6,595
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L26, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Palo Alto Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Desai Paresh
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 16, 1998
- Destination
- PAO
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- PAO · Palo Alto
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 78 total · 75 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJC, 10 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.