No fatalities

Parked Airplane Rolls into Terminal, Damaging Elevators

Carolina, PR, United States

On January 11, 2016, a BEECH B200 UNDESIGNAT operated by Island Airways was involved in an aviation accident near Carolina, PR. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to actuate the parking brake prior to leaving his seat, resulting in substantial damage. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 14 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1785761257Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot reported that after parking and shutting down systems, the airplane rolled backwards into the airport terminal, causing substantial damage to the left and right elevators. No mechanical failures or anomalies were found.

Incident Details

A pilot reported that after parking the airplane and shutting down the requisite systems, he proceeded to the back of the airplane to allow passengers to disembark and set the wheel chocks. As he began to open the cabin door, he realized the airplane was rolling backwards. The airplane rolled into the wall of the airport terminal, resulting in substantial damage to the left and right elevators.

Pilot's Report

The pilot stated that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane or any of its systems that would have prevented normal operation.

Post-Accident Inspection

According to the manufacturer's pilot operating handbook and the operator, the accident airplane was equipped with a parking brake. After the accident, the operator's maintenance department inspected the parking brake system in accordance with the Beech B200 service manual and found no failures or anomalies.

Contributing factors

Causes

Not used/operatedPilot

Other contributing factors

Contributed to outcome