What happened
On November 22, 1964, an incident occurred at the Altenrhein airfield in the canton of St. Gallen involving two light aircraft. While taxiing toward a parking position, the pilot of a Piper J3C, registration HB-ONC, moved the aircraft into a space that was already occupied. The spot was held by another aircraft, a Norécrin II, registration HB-DAO, which was parked and unoccupied at the time of the event.
The investigation
The investigation established that the collision was the result of the pilot of HB-ONC failing to sufficiently verify that the intended parking area was clear before proceeding. The impact caused physical damage to both aircraft involved.
Findings
- There were no injuries resulting from the collision.
- The aircraft HB-ONC sustained light damage.
- The aircraft HB-DAO sustained heavy damage.
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure to ensure the parking space was vacant prior to taxiing into it.