- Date
- August 2, 1997, 11:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Manassas, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N23831Piper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970802047079A
- Case key
- 39419
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 misjudgment of clearance between the aircraft and fuel truck, which resulted in a collision.
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
While taxiing, the pilot misjudged the clearance of her right wing to a parked fuel truck that was ahead and to the right of her. The right wing tip struck the fuel truck, and the airplane pivoted into the fuel truck. The pilot was not injured, but a person refueling an airplane on the other side of the fuel truck received minor injuries while trying to escape from the scene. The right wing was bent rearward during the accident.
Factual narrative
On August 2, 1997, about 1150 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-38-112, N23831, was substantially damaged while taxiing for departure at Manassas Regional Airport, Manassas, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which originated at Manassas. No flight plan had been filed for the flight which was planned to be conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident report, the pilot stated:
"I was taxiing on ramp centerline and noted a fuel truck fueling a parked aircraft. The truck was about 16' to the right of the ramp center line. I misjudged the distance and my right wing tip struck the truck right head lamp before I time to react. The plane spun around on the wing axis and the propeller struck the rear wheel area of the truck."
In a telephone interview, an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the accident occurred in a "non-movement" area used for airplane parking. The pilot had taxied with the engine operating about 1,000 RPM. The airplane's propeller struck the truck several times; however, there was no fuel leakage. The right wing was bent rearward, with the trailing edge of the right wing pushed into the fuselage about 6 inches.
Additionally, the FAA inspector reported that at the time of the accident, the fuel truck driver was on the opposite side of the truck refueling an airplane. The driver received minor injuries to his hand as he extracted his hand from the refueling nozzle. In addition, when he turned and ran, he fell and injured a knee.
According to FAA records, the pilot had received her private pilot certificate on July 22, 1997. In the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report report, she listed her total time as 123 hours, with 31 hours as pilot-in-command.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N23831
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A1057
- Airframe hours
- 4,021
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Manassas Aviation Center Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 31, 1997 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- HEF
- Destination
- JYO · Leesburg, VA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- HEF · Manassas Regional
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 123 total · 117 in this make and model · 31 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 13,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IAD, 14 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.