- Date
- June 11, 2011, 20:30 local (Jun 12, 2011, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Page, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N5765DMooney M20K
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 19, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20110611012949A
- Case key
- 80738
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 selection of the wrong taxi route and failure to follow prescribed taxi procedures.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was taxiing from the transient parking towards the runway for takeoff. It was dusk at the time and he was proceeding at a walking pace (2-3 miles per hour) to the taxiway when he encountered a large ditch at the end of the tarmac. The airplane rolled into the ditch bending the propeller and the empennage. The pilot commented that there were no signs, reflectors, warnings, or other indications that the ditch was there. The airport manager reported that the taxi route from the transient area is clearly marked with in-ground reflectors which lead to a lit taxiway and then to the runway. According to the manager, it appeared the pilot proceeded directly to the taxiway from the transient parking area where he was parked. He crossed a set of double solid lines that demarcate the taxiway edge, and continued into a helicopter operating/parking area. From there he crossed a marked service road, past a helicopter landing pad, and past a lit windsock before impacting the drainage ditch. The airport manager further reported that since the area is clearly marked and only intended for helicopter traffic there is no extra signage warning of the ditch.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was taxiing from the transient parking towards the runway for takeoff. It was dusk at the time and he was proceeding at a walking pace (2-3 miles per hour) to the taxiway when he encountered a large ditch at the end of the tarmac. The airplane rolled into the ditch bending the prop and the empennage. The pilot commented that there were no signs, reflectors, warnings, or other indications that the ditch was there. The airport manager reported that the taxi route from the transient area is clearly marked with in ground reflectors which lead to a lit taxiway and then the runway. The manager stated that it appears that from the transient parking area where the pilot was parked he proceeded directly to the taxiway, crossing a set of double solid lines that demarcate the taxiway edge, and crossed into a helicopter operating/parking area. From there he crossed a marked service road, past a helicopter landing pad, and past a lit windsock and into the drainage ditch. The airport manager further reported that as the area is clearly marked and only intended for helicopter traffic there is no extra signage warning of the ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5765D
- Reported as
- Mooney M20K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-0833
- Airframe hours
- 2,055
- Engine
- Contenental IO-360-L, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pacific Medical Communication Inc DBA
- Registered owner
- Pacific Medical Communication Inc DBA
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 9, 2011 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- KPGA · Page, AZ
- Destination
- KPGA · Page, AZ
- Airport
- KPGA · Page Municipal Airport
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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- October 6, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,432 total · 632 in this make and model · 1,261 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KPGA
Docket · 8
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 1, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 636 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.