Introduction
On 12 May 2006, at approximately 1225 UTC, a Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II (registration G-BPTE) struck two fire tenders while taxiing from a fuel installation at Blackbushe Airport in Camberley, Surrey. The aircraft was engaged in a private flight with one pilot and one passenger. Neither occupant was injured. The aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and right wing leading edge.
History of the Flight
After refuelling, the pilot started the engine and requested aerodrome and weather information. To taxi away from the fuel installation, he increased power and attempted a left turn away from the pumps. The manoeuvre was not completed before the starboard wingtip struck a fire tender parked nearby, causing the aircraft to swing to the right. Despite applying wheel brakes and reducing power, the aircraft continued to swing until its propeller hit a second fire tender parked parallel to and slightly beyond the first. The propeller became trapped between the bumper and chassis of the second tender, and the engine stopped suddenly. The pilot and passenger vacated the aircraft via the right-hand door. The pilot judged that he had failed to allow sufficient clearance between his aircraft and nearby obstacles as he taxied away.
A member of the airfield Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) observed that shortly after leaving the fuel installation, the aircraft stopped very close to the first tender with its engine operating at high power. When he approached, the pilot appeared to be using the aircraft radio. The aircraft then moved off and impacted the first tender shortly afterwards.
Damage
The first fire tender sustained superficial damage. The second tender received damage to its nearside front wing, bonnet, and bumper from the propeller and nose of the aircraft. Both tenders remained serviceable but were blocked by the aircraft until it was removed 20 minutes after the occurrence. The aircraft's propeller was destroyed; later, RFFS crew cut the trapped blade to free the aircraft. The engine was removed for inspection of shock loading effects. A visual inspection revealed no pre-existing faults with the steering or brake systems that could have contributed to the incident.
Aftermath
Two spare fire tenders, equipped to provide reduced fire cover and occasionally substituted for tenders under maintenance, were parked elsewhere on the airfield. They could not be manned at short notice because all available crew were occupied with removing the incident aircraft. Consequently, the airfield was without dedicated fire cover, and all commercial flying activities were curtailed for that period.
The CAA does not require fire tenders to be dispersed or protected from collision damage when parked. To minimise response time, fire tenders and their crew are typically co-located within the RFFS compound, which must be near aircraft manoeuvring areas. The airport RFFS considered it impractical to change parking arrangements to guarantee continued provision of at least one unit, and the CAA concurred.