What happened
On 23 March 2006, a student pilot performing his first solo flight in a Piper Warrior PA20-161, registration 9V-BOE, was taxiing at Seletar Airport following a successful landing. While navigating the apron area, the pilot became disoriented and mistakenly turned into Parking Bay C14, an area where a Learjet was parked.
Upon realizing the error, the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft out of the bay by passing between the parked Learjet and an airport van that was waiting at the edge of the apron for clearance to cross a runway. While the pilot focused his attention on maintaining clearance from the Learjet on his right, he failed to monitor the left side of the aircraft. Consequently, the left wing tip of the 9V-BOE struck the rear of the van, and the leading edge of the wing subsequently scraped the side of the vehicle. The collision caused damage to the aircraft's wing tip, navigation lights, and wing skin, while the van suffered a shattered rear screen and dented bodywork. No injuries were reported.
The investigation
The investigation examined the pilot's decision-making, the van driver's actions, and the flying club's procedures. Investigators found that the van was parked legally and was not in violation of apron movement protocols. The driver, seeing the aircraft in his rearview mirror, had no time to move the vehicle to avoid the impact.
Furthermore, the investigation looked into the flying club's standard operating procedures. While the club's manual required the instructor to monitor the solo flight from the tower, it did not explicitly mandate monitoring the ground taxiing phase. The instructor had left the tower to meet the student at the designated parking bay just after the aircraft vacated the runway.
Findings
- The student pilot experienced disorientation while taxiing, leading to an incorrect turn into an unfamiliar parking bay.
- The pilot failed to stop the aircraft or request assistance from air traffic control or his instructor after realizing he had entered the wrong bay.
- The pilot's concentration was exclusively focused on avoiding the Learjet, leading to a lack of situational awareness regarding the van on his left.
- The incident might have been prevented if the instructor had remained in the tower to monitor the student's ground movements until the aircraft reached its final destination.