This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports
Narrative 1
My student and I were taxiing northbound on Taxiway Alpha at ZZZ to Runway XX. Between A4 and Runway X-XY my student and I noticed a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle coming towards us at full power. They went off the runway, crossed the grass between the runway and taxiway, crossed over Taxiway Alpha, back onto the grass (west of Alpha) and back onto Alpha. At this point they were feet away from us.
I took flight control and made the decision to abruptly turn off the taxiway to the east into the grass.
The 421 was completely out of control and at full power about to hit and kill us head on. I committed to the decision to turn right off the taxiway and luckily it just missed us. If I had remained on the taxiway, it would have been a very different end to the day.
I was extremely surprised at the power and speed the 421 was coming for us. Even if an engine had failed, multi operations call for idling the engines to regain control of the aircraft.
The pilot apparently had a very bad attitude, and told the line workers at ZZZ1 jet center to not report the incident.
Narrative 2
At the controls of the airplane, I was cleared by ZZZ ground to taxi to Runway XX via Bravo, Alpha, and to cross Runway X-XY. Approximately 150 to 200 feet after crossing Runway X-XY on Alpha heading northbound I noticed the C421 that had just started its takeoff roll start turning toward us. It was clear he was no longer traveling parallel to the runway and I brought the C172 to a stop and pointed it out to my instructor.
We watched the plane accelerate across the grass between the runway and taxiway towards the east. It was obvious that the power was still applied at least to one of the engines although both did appear to be spinning at similar RPM. The plane continued down and then up the dip between the runway and taxiways and continued across the taxiway towards our right. I applied power from a stop and began to turn the plane to the left towards the grass with the goal of putting space between us and the path the C421 was taking.
However, it was clear the pilot had little to no control of the airplane. The plane started to turn right back towards and onto the taxiway that we were on still with enough speed that a collision was imminent.
My flight instructor took the controls, applied full power, and quickly turned our plane to the right and into the grass to avoid the quickly approaching C421. Just as our tail was clear of the taxiway, the C421 passed through the spot we had just been sitting in just 5 seconds earlier at approximately 20-30 kts.
Once the C421 had passed we taxied off the grass back onto the taxiway and continued to the run-up area to shut down and inspect the aircraft for damage. No damage was found and we continued my training flight.
I want to stress how frightening it was, however, and although our plane suffered no physical damage the event will have a lasting impact on me, which was not fully felt until later that night.
It was clear that the pilot had little control of the airplane while crossing over the grasses, yet turned back toward us on the taxiway to avoid continuing into the grass/dirt.
The dark black tire marks leading off the runway and across the taxiway is evidence that power was still applied across the dirt as the plane was not slowing down and the engine RPM was very high.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 1901117
AnonymousFriday, May 20, 2022 at 11:35:00 AM EDT
There is more to the story regarding the incident described on the May 15, 2022, Cessna 421C (N33UW) incident report. The loss of control on takeoff resulted in a near-miss after evasive action was taken by a C172M (N1256U) on the ground. I was sitting in the left seat of the 172, and had we not applied full power and taxied out of the way; the C421 would indeed have blended us with its props. It was clear the pilot did not have control of the C421. It also received damage to both propellers. I have footage of the event with the Public Record request it was received from.
“The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports…”
Kinda silly when ASRS details are hidden with XXXX, YYYY & ZZZZ…
Then the pilot fesses up everything
to Kathryn’s.
Good job, Cessna N1256U; glad you escaped unharmed.
‘Routine’ makes it ‘mentally hard’ to process the unbelievable as it unfolds.
Thankfully the flight instructor was alert and ready… to avoid the unexpected-unbelievable OUTSIDE of the cockpit… and quickly take decisive/calculated actions to avoid a catastrophe.
This reminds me of the old gunfighter philosophy… the ‘take your time in a hurry’.
This instructor is a true ‘steely-eyed pilot’… setting a great example for the student beside them!!!
NOW as for the 421 pilot: that situation demands ‘see-something, say-something action’… NOT a ‘see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no evil’ mindset… IE: quiet-passive acquiescence.
What happened to the 421 ? Did it take off ? Wreck ? Inquiring minds 😐
It would be nice to know what was wrong with the pilot of the 421. It seems there were a lot of things he/she could have done to stop the plane.
Appears to have been this incident – the report includes the ADSB groundtrack in one of the comments.
http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2022/05/cessna-421c-golden-eagle-n33uw-incident.html
@scott p: Not sure what school zones you live around but 35mph seems pretty fast here in small town USA. If something the size of a 421 were driving down the road at you from side to side without any semblance of control and with both props spinning (in a school zone, no less), pretty sure you’d likely poop your shorts and take out a couple school kids in panic.
These folks did well.
Los Chaves Elementary, Hwy 314 Los Chaves, NM
Gateway Elementary-high school Roswell, NM
Valley Elementary, Roswell, NM
All 35 mph
You need to get out more often!…lol
A 421 on an airport has a more than a 22 ft wide road to drive from side to side on, and I wouldn’t set there watch it until it was 5 seconds away.
From the narratives both scenarios took a while to set there and watch unfold. But then 20-30kts (school zone speeds) isn’t exactly wildly careening….lol
30 knots in a school zone will get you a ticket. The pilot of the 421 needs a similar lesson. “LOL”