What happened
On 17 May 2010, a Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II, registration G-CFMX, was being taxied from a parking stand toward the fuel pumps at Stapleford Airfield, Essex. The aircraft was being operated by a student pilot who intended to refuel the plane before beginning a training flight. During the taxi, the pilot miscalculated the distance between the left wingtip of his aircraft and the nose of another stationary aircraft, a Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior III, registration G-CBYU.
As the wingtip made contact with the parked aircraft, the impact caused the G-CFMX to rotate 180 degrees to the left. The sequence ended with the engine spinner of the moving aircraft becoming embedded in the side of the rear fuselage of the unoccupied G-CBYU. There were no injuries resulting from the incident.
The investigation
The investigation was based on an aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The examiner noted that the student pilot had recently completed a specific syllabus exercise regarding taxiing and had demonstrated competent ability to his instructor. The physical damage to the aircraft included damage to the left wing leading edge and wing tip of G-CFMX, along with shock-loading to its engine. The stationary G-CBYU sustained damage to its nose, left wing, and fuselage.
Findings
- The primary cause of the collision was the misjudgment of clearance between the wingtip of the taxiing aircraft and the parked aircraft.
- The student pilot had recently demonstrated satisfactory taxiing skills during previous instruction, but required further training on taxiing maneuvers following this event.