MKC89LA189

NTSB accident investigation · Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A · Kansas City, MO · August 27, 1989

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 27, 1989, 13:28 local (18:28 UTC)
Place
Kansas City, MO
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Taxi
Aircraft
N63884Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report December 10, 1990
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19890827032209A
Case key
34857

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

Inadequate control tower service provided by tower personnel, and inadequate remedial action by the vehicle driver. The pilot's lack of visual lookout was considered to be a contributing factor.

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.

On ground/water collision with objectTaxi
Control tower service - inadequateAtc personnel(lcl/gnd/clnc)Cause
Visual lookout - inadequatePilot in commandFactor
Object - vehicle
Remedial action - inadequateDriver of vehicleCause

Analysis

The plt was giving 'rides' to the owner's family. He stopped in a northerly drctn at/near the rgt side of the twy to change passengers (pax). After the pax change, he contacted gnd ctl & obtained clnc to taxi for another takeoff. He had limited fwd visibility in the tailwheel equipped acft. To taxi, he elected to angle the acft to the left onto the twy, then turn rgt to s-turn & clr himself dwn the twy. As he bgn taxiing, 2 camouflaged tugs with ammo trailers were coming down the twy fm the opposite drctn. As the acft angled onto the twy, the relative psn of the vehicles remained off the nose of the acft & the plt did not see them. The 1st vehicle driver stopped & tried to contact gnd ctl. He then tried totake evasive actn, but was unsuccessful. Subsequently, the acft's left wing hit the 1st vehicle & the prop hit the ammo trailer. The acdnt occurred on a joint-use military/civilian arpt. The plt & vehicle drivers were under jurisdiction of gnd ctl & in view of the ctl twr. The operg procedures had military & civilian traffic on different freqs.

Aircraft

Registration
N63884
Reported as
Consolidated-Vultee BT-13A
Category
Airplane
Serial number
1833
Engine
P&W R-985-AN3, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
J.L. Mccullough
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
GVW
Airport
GVW · Richards Gebaur, runway 18, 9,000 × 150 ft, macadam

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
65
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Flight hours
14,205 total · 608 in this make and model · 13,895 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
180° at 3 knots
Visibility
15 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
-0 °F, dew point -0 °F
Observed at
GVW, 1 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.