The pilot reported that, while taxiing from the runway to his tie-down space at the airport in Willow, Alaska, he was taxiing “into the sun.”
He added that, before he could react, he hit the tail of another airplane, which was stopped on the taxiway.
The pilot of the stopped airplane reported to the FAA inspector that he was planning to depart and had stopped on the taxiway to put on his seat belt when his airplane was struck from behind.
The taxiing airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut; the stopped airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage.
Probable cause: The other pilot’s failure to see and avoid another airplane parked on the taxiway while taxiing in sun glare conditions.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA087B
This December 2017 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.
“to put on his seat belt” – I suspect the taxiing pilot didn’t use his checklist prior to departure and the other pilot was following too closely.
This one will cause the insurance underwriter to lose a few hairs. The departing pilot didn’t fasten his safety belt in accordance with 91.107(a)(3) prior to movement on the surface and then stopped in a questionable location to secure the belt. The arriving pilot taxied without proper vision. Everybody makes mistakes but how frustrating can it get when the timelines conflict. A few seconds one way or the other and this never would have happened. Following the rules (which sometimes doesn’t seem that important) would have probably prevented it also. Food for thought.
The plane hit is not at fault. Doesn’t matter if he stopped to fasten his belt. The sun glare guy needs to get a pair of non-polarized sunglasses.
Probably but you can never be sure about those things. I found it interesting that in this case, just following basic rules would seem to have resulted in no accident.
You nailed it, following the basic rules and procedures certainly improves your chances of not having to deal with the FAA, NTSB, Insurance, and Lawyers, to name a few….