Incident Overview
On June 20, 2009, at approximately 1030 central daylight time, a Cessna 182R, registration N60HP, struck a hangar with the left wingtip while taxiing after landing at Tenkiller Lake Airpark (44M) in Cookson, Oklahoma. The aircraft was being operated by the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, based in Bethany, Oklahoma, under visual flight rules as a public use flight per 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Wiley Post Airport (PWA) in Bethany, Oklahoma, at 0930.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported that after back taxiing on the grass airstrip, he taxied onto an asphalt road located between the airstrip and the hangar area on the northeast side of the airport. While taxiing on the road, he felt a "jolt." After stopping and exiting the aircraft, he observed that the left wing had made contact with a T-hangar.
Airport Manager and Commission Statements
The pilot noted that the airport manager informed him that other aircraft had previously struck the hangar at the same location. A member of the airport commission stated that the airport has no paved taxiways; the surface the pilot was taxiing on is a road, which should not be used as a taxiway. Additionally, the building that the aircraft contacted is painted orange.