Background
The incident involved two aircraft: N859CP, which was taxiing, and N9531D, which was parked and tied down. The pilot of N859CP, a flight instructor, was operating the aircraft during nighttime conditions.
Accident
According to the flight instructor, while taxiing N859CP, he observed a landing light flash from another aircraft. He partially lost his night vision and then noticed that the other aircraft's engine was operating, but its position or beacon lights were not illuminated. Believing the other aircraft was preparing to depart, the instructor turned off his own taxi light to avoid impairing the other crew's night vision. When he looked up again, he realized he was about to collide with the parked aircraft. He attempted to apply the brakes but was unable to stop in time, and the propeller of the parked aircraft struck the wing of N859CP.
Investigation
An FAA inspector conducted a postaccident investigation and determined that N9531D was being operated by company maintenance personnel while it was tied down and was not being operated with any intent for flight.