- Date
- December 26, 2007, 11:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fullerton, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N13974Cessna 172S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20071226828789A
- Case key
- 67298
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 while taxiing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's diverted attention.
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 had landed the airplane, exited the runway and was taxiing to parking. The tower controller informed the pilot that a helicopter was above him and to his right. The pilot looked to the right and saw the helicopter. While watching the helicopter, the pilot added right brake and throttle to move the airplane towards the center line of the taxiway. As the airplane turned, the pilot felt a jolt and saw that the airplane's left wing had contacted a utility trailer, substantially damaging the wing spar. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had looked to all sides before turning and not allowed himself to be distracted by the presence of the helicopter.
Factual narrative
The student pilot had landed the airplane, exited the runway and was taxiing to parking. The tower controller informed the pilot that a helicopter was above him and to his right. The pilot looked to the right and saw the helicopter. While watching the helicopter, the pilot added right brake and throttle to move the airplane towards the center line of the taxiway. As the airplane turned, the pilot felt a jolt and saw that the airplane's left wing had contacted a utility trailer, substantially damaging the wing spar. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had looked to all sides before turning and not allowed himself to be distracted by the presence of the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13974
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10409
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Aviation Facilities, Inc.
- Registered owner
- PMC Concrete Construction, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- FUL · Fullerton, CA
- Destination
- FUL
- Airport
- FUL · Fullerton Municipal
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
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 102 total · 102 in this make and model · 23 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.