No fatalities

24 May 2015: PIPER PA 28-181 181 — TransPac Aviation Academy — Wickenburg, AZ

Wickenburg, AZ, United States

On 24 May 2015, a PIPER PA 28-181 181 operated by TransPac Aviation Academy was involved in an aviation accident near Wickenburg, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate monitoring of the aircraft's wing clearance during taxi operations. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 17 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A student pilot struck a parked aircraft while taxiing on the ramp following a landing.

What happened

On May 24, 2015, a Piper PA 28-181, registration N442PA, was taxiing in the ramp area at Wickenburg, Arizona, after completing a landing. During the taxi, the student pilot failed to visually monitor the aircraft's wing clearance, leading to a collision with a parked airplane. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the left wing spar of the aircraft.

There were no injuries resulting from the incident. The weather conditions at the time were Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) with a visibility of 10 statute miles and winds from 310 degrees at 4 knots.

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate monitoring of the aircraft's wing clearance during taxi operations.

Contributing factors

Student/instructed pilotContributed to outcome