The pilot of a Cessna was waiting in the run-up area to the runway in Nampa, Idaho. Before he could move onto the runway, he heard a loud noise and felt his airplane move.
He shut down the engine and, after getting out of the airplane, saw that the left wing of a Piper had collided with the Cessna’s rudder and vertical stabilizer, tipping the vertical stabilizer to the right and twisting and buckling the fuselage.
The Piper pilot stated he was taxiing to get fuel with no intent for flight when he saw the tail of the Cessna directly in front of him. He applied the right brake and swerved his airplane to avoid directly hitting the Cessna with the propeller.
The pilot added that he had no idea why he was unable to see the Cessna in time to avoid the collision.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of this accident as the failure of the pilot of the Piper to maintain proper visual lookout.
NTSB Identification: WPR13CA139
This March 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
“TWHUA”– taxiing with head up A$$ maybe… 🙂
How can anyone honestly say “I don’t know why I didn’t see an airplane directly in front of me on the taxiway.” It takes a lot of nerve or gall or something to say that with a straight face. Nevertheless, distractions from electronic gadgetry which I suspect was the cause in this case, happens on our highways everyday. It’s to the point now that on any two lane highway I give my undivided attention to any approaching vehicle in anticipation that it may drift cross the centerline any moment and come straight for me. Don’t laugh, it’s happened…more than once.
Based on casual observations I would guess conservatively that attention to electronic gadgetry takes precedence over safety at least 75% of the time. What I can’t understand is why people find it so compelling that a response must be made NOW rather than later to a communication alert by the proverbial electronic gadget? If it were a life or death matter – ok fine respond without delay to the near exclusion of everything else – but we know that 99.99% of the time it is not a life or death matter. More often than not it’s routine communication of little import. But still people have this compulsion to stop everything to respond to the gadget’s alert.
We used to let phones ring until they stopped or were answered by the answering machine rather than answer them ourselves when it would have taken us away from whatever task we were involved in at the time. But not with these handheld electronic communication gadgets of today. It seems that most people take the attitude that they MUST be responded to immediately regardless of the situation even if its just to check to see who or what initiated the alert.
I’ve come to refer to the cell phones as “walkie-talkies” or “drivie-talkies” because it seems that most people can’t take a walk of any distance or operate an automobile until they’ve first put one of those phones to their ear. And now as this mishap seems to indicate, only guessing, the distractions these devices can render has been extended to operating an airplane…on the ground no less.
As with my TV which I turned off years ago and cancelled cable service using it briefly now to check the weather occasionally or watch a sporting event over the airwaves, I carry the phone with me only as an absolute necessity. I will under no circumstances use it or look at it while driving. And in an airplane? Not gonna happen. And those iPads, etc. While its tempting to get one, I figure I don’t really need ’em. Round dial gauges, VOR, ADF, ILS, along with the required Paper Charts, Sectionals and Approach Plates work for me as they have for a good many years and will continue to do so until I no longer need ’em.
A typical situation of non situational awareness, head / eyes in the cockpit too long, attention distracted,
one can go on, and on about this preventable situation, what happened to just plain common sense ??
Even on taxiways and ramps you need to Aviate, Navigate and Communicate! Eyes outside the cockpit when taxiing the aircraft under power.
MAYBE HE WAS WATCHING OPRAH
At least they weren’t in the air.
Maybe he was playing with his electronic gadgets in the cockpit. Sad. 🙁
yep, texting no doubt