- Date
- November 9, 2020, 07:24 local (14:24 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N4117HDiamond DA40
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20201109015299A
- Case key
- 102257
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 with a vehicle while taxiing.
Findings · 2
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 student pilot reported that while taxiing to the runup area he stopped when he noticed a construction vehicle was in close proximity to the taxiway. After he assessed the situation and felt that he had enough room to taxi around the vehicle on the left, he continued to taxi. However, while maneuvering around the vehicle he misjudged the clearance, and the right wing was substantially damaged when it collided with the vehicle. The student reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4117H
- Reported as
- Diamond DA40 (F)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 40.938
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 13,612
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-M1A+, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- CAE Phoenix - Aviation Academy
- Registered owner
- Cae Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · November 4, 2020 · 5.3 hours before
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- FFZ · Falcon Field
- Equipment
- Data recorder, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Satellite tracking device
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 32 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- FFZ, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 30, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 MB 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.