NTSB Identification: CEN15CA223
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident
occurred
Sunday, May 03, 2015
in
De Kalb, IL
Probable Cause Approval Date:
06/01/2015
Aircraft:
PIPER J3C-65, registration:
N98656
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
NTSB
investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but
not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator
and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this
aircraft accident report.
The pilot, who was in the rear tandem seat of the tailwheel airplane, had just landed and was taxing to the fuel pumps to refuel.
He did not see the parked Beech A36 over the nose of his airplane and collided with the right wing of N4678A.
The pilot said the accident could have been prevented if he had followed the taxi line on the tarmac.
He also blamed his "less than effective brakes" that didn't help as he tried to control the airplane in the wind.
This caused his attention to be diverted and he lost sight of the surrounding obstructions. The pilot had logged a total of 82 flight hours, of which 13 hours were in the accident airplane.
The pilot, who was in the rear tandem seat of the tailwheel airplane, had just landed and was taxing to the fuel pumps to refuel.
He did not see the parked Beech A36 over the nose of his airplane and collided with the right wing of N4678A.
The pilot said the accident could have been prevented if he had followed the taxi line on the tarmac.
He also blamed his "less than effective brakes" that didn't help as he tried to control the airplane in the wind.
This caused his attention to be diverted and he lost sight of the surrounding obstructions. The pilot had logged a total of 82 flight hours, of which 13 hours were in the accident airplane.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's loss of positional awareness while taxiing, resulting in a collision with a parked and unoccupied airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's difficulty seeing over the nose of the airplane, his preoccupation with trying to control the airplane in the wind, and his minimal experience in the airplane