On February 16, 2003, a Cessna 421C (registration N321FL) was involved in an aviation accident near San Francisco, CA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The truck driver failed to observe the airplane and failed to yield to the approaching airplane. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A maintenance truck driver failed to observe a taxiing airplane and collided with its right wing on a dark night. The truck did not yield as per published airport procedures.
Incident Description
A maintenance truck driver failed to observe an airplane that had just landed and was taxiing to the ramp on a course perpendicular to the truck's direction of travel. The westbound truck, proceeding on a vehicle access road, collided with the leading edge of the northbound airplane's right wing.
Sequence of Events
The accident occurred during a dark night. The pilot had landed on runway 28R and subsequently received a clearance to taxi to the ramp via a specified route. Approaching the designated parking area, the pilot negotiated a right 90-degree turn and proceeded in a northerly direction toward a fixed base operator's parking area. As the airplane moved north, its ground track crossed an airport service road, where the collision took place.
Contributing Factors
According to the investigation, the truck driver failed to comply with published airport procedures by not yielding to the approaching airplane.
Probable cause
The truck driver failed to observe the airplane and failed to yield to the approaching airplane.