The pilot was taxiing the Piper PA-46 and receiving progressive taxi instructions from an air traffic controller at the airport in West Columbia, S.C.
He asked if he should turn onto the taxiway and was instructed to do so.
However, instead of proceeding on the taxiway, which had a continuous painted yellow centerline, he turned left onto a vehicle service road, which had a painted white “stop” marking and an adjacent stop sign.
The underside of the left wing hit the stop sign, which resulted in substantial damage.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadvertent navigation onto a service road instead of a taxiway, which resulted in a collision with a stop sign.
NTSB Identification: ERA18LA213
This July 2018 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.
According to what I read, nothing was said about reviewing the tapes of ground control — so, no one pulled the tapes. And the signage appears to be missing a RED square sign with a white circle and a white stripe in the center indicating that aircraft are NOT to proceed in this direction (isn’t this on the private written? I know it is for the CPL). What is mentioned is the vehicle STOP sign and associated white stripe.
Non-standard signage, and progressive taxi where pilot asks about making a left turn here. Isn’t the controller supposed to be watching before confirming?
Now, had this happened with a Part 135|121|125 operation the NTSB most certainly would have traveled and would have listened to the tapes and would have noticed the missing sign.
As GA, something goes wrong and we are the problem. We inadvertently made a wrong turn after verifying that this was the turn to make.