No fatalities

28 Jun 2015: BEECH D17S S — HOFF ROBERT A — Idaho Falls, ID

Idaho Falls, ID, United States

On 28 Jun 2015, a BEECH D17S S operated by HOFF ROBERT A was involved in an aviation accident near Idaho Falls, ID. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: While taxiing as a flight of two, the pilot of the blue Beechcraft became distracted and impacted the red Beechcraft which had stopped. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 6 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

While taxiing as a flight of two, a red Beechcraft stopped for an engine run-up. The pilot of a blue Beechcraft lost visual contact while changing radio frequencies and struck the red Beechcraft's left wing, causing substantial damage.

Accident Details

During a taxi operation involving two Beechcraft aircraft flying in formation, the pilot of the red aircraft brought the airplane to a halt to perform an engine run-up. At the same time, the pilot of the blue Beechcraft was occupied with changing frequencies on the radio, during which visual contact with the lead red aircraft was lost. Subsequently, the blue Beechcraft collided with the left aft section of the red Beechcraft, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing of the red aircraft.

Pilot Reports

Both pilots stated that there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframes or engines. According to their reports, the aircraft systems were functioning normally prior to the collision, and no abnormalities were noted that would have prevented normal operation.

The incident highlights the challenges of maintaining visual contact during ground operations, especially when cockpit tasks such as radio frequency changes distract from external scanning. However, no causal analysis or recommendations are provided in the source.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot of other aircraftPilot

Other contributing factors

Contributed to outcome