Accident Details
On November 28, 2016, at 2030 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 560 airplane, registration N22AF, struck a parked helicopter, registration N530PJ, after landing at Salinas Municipal Airport in Salinas, California. The accident occurred after the airplane transitioned from taxiway Foxtrot to a taxilane in a non-movement area. The airplane sustained minor damage to its right-wing tip, and the pilot reported no injuries. The helicopter required major repair. The airplane was registered to Bill Massa Company Incorporated and operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a night visual flight rules flight. The flight originated from and returned to Salinas.
According to the pilot, after landing, he taxied toward his hangar using taxiway Foxtrot and made a right turn into the transient parking area, heading southeast via the taxilane. He stated that he was focused on maintaining a safe distance from an airplane parked on the left side of the taxilane. To avoid that aircraft, he turned the airplane to the right, away from the taxilane centerline, and the right wing struck a helicopter that was parked on the right side of the taxilane.
Airport and Taxilane Information
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) categorizes Salinas Municipal Airport as a category B-II airport. According to FAA Advisory Circular 150/530013A, Airport Design, Table 4-1, Group II airports require a Taxilane Object Free Area (TOFA) of 57 feet 6 inches on either side of the taxilane centerline. FAA aviation safety inspectors measured the taxilane at Salinas Municipal Airport and found it to be 47 feet 6 inches on either side of the centerline. The airplane the pilot attempted to avoid was parked on the left side of the taxilane centerline within the limits of the TOFA. The perpendicular distance between the helicopter and the parked airplane was 80 feet (the absolute distance was not measured).
Aircraft Specifications
The wingspan of the Cessna 560 involved in the incident is 56 feet 4 inches.