What happened
On 21 July 2002, a Societe Wassmer Jodel D120A, registration G-BDEH, was involved in a ground incident at Compton Abbas during a private flight. While taxiing, the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft into a parking space situated between two stationary planes. The pilot positioned the aircraft significantly to the left to ensure the left wing would clear the wing of a nearby high-wing Cessna 337A, registration G-HIVA, allowing enough space to complete a 180-degree turn.
During this maneuver, the pilot focused on maintaining wingtip clearance relative to the aircraft on the right. However, the propeller of the Jodel struck the wingtip of the parked Cessna. The impact caused damage to the Cessna's outermost nose rib, tip fairing, and its navigation and strobe lights. The propeller of G-BDEH also sustained damage. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The inquiry established that the pilot's primary focus during the taxiing sequence was the clearance of the aircraft's wingtip from the adjacent plane. In the process of managing this lateral distance, the pilot did not maintain adequate awareness of the vertical clearance between the rotating propeller and the Cessna's wing structure.
Findings
- The pilot was concentrated on avoiding a wingtip collision with the aircraft on the right.
- The pilot failed to monitor the proximity of the propeller to the wingtip of the parked Cessna 337A.
- The pilot later acknowledged that the engine should have been shut down to allow for manual positioning of the aircraft into the parking slot.