PLT TAXIING A C172 HAS WINGTIP HIT HATCH OF ILLEGALLY PARKED CAR ADJACENT TO TXWY. CONFRONTATION ENSUES WITH SHERIFF TRYING TO MEDIATE.

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THIS IS A RPT THAT WILL NARRATE THE ACTIONS TAKING PLACE IN DAVID WAYNE HOOKS ARPT IN SPRING; TX; ON THE EVENING OF SEP/XX/96. I WAS TAXIING BACK FROM RWY 17R ON PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ARPT; SEARCHING FOR THE HANGAR OF FBO WHERE I LEASED THE CESSNA 172 ACFT THAT I USED THAT DAY FOR A LEISURE FLT; WHEN I SAW A VEHICLE PARKED ON THE LAWN BETWEEN THE WATER LANE AND TXWY. THERE WAS ALSO A PERSON AND HIS 3 DOGS. THE DOGS WERE SWIMMING IN THE SEA LANE; WHICH I CONSIDERED SOMEHOW STRANGE; BUT I PROCEEDED WITH CAUTION MY TAXIING. THEN DECIDED TO STEP ON THE R RUDDER OF THE ACFT IN ORDER TO AVOID CLOSENESS BTWN THE VEHICLE AND THE ACFT. AS THE LIGHT WAS ALREADY STARTING TO DIM (WITHOUT BEING DUSK YET); I HAD TO BE MORE CAREFUL. I MADE MY CALCULATIONS AND REALIZED THAT MY L WING WAS CLR FROM THE VEHICLE AND PROCEED WITH CAUTION; WHEN SUDDENLY I FELT A LIGHT MOVEMENT TOWARDS THE L OF THE ACFT. WHEN I TURNED AROUND I SAW THAT THE TIP OF MY L WING GOT IN TOUCH WITH THE REAR DOOR HATCH FROM THE VEHICLE BREAKING THE REAR WINDSHIELD. IMMEDIATELY I SHUT OFF THE ENG OF THE C172 AND SAW THE PERSON COMING VERY VIOLENTLY TOWARDS THE COCKPIT. WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR; I WAS GREETED WITH SEVERAL FOUL WORDS AND THE MAN CALLING ME IRRESPONSIBLE AND CARELESS. THERE I MENTIONED; I AM SORRY SIR; BUT THE HATCH OF YOUR VEHICLE WAS NOT VISIBLE. IN ANY CASE; WHY ARE YOU PARKED IN THIS 10 FT OF LAWN WHILE IN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TXWY THERE ARE EASILY 40 FT OF GRASS WHERE YOU COULD PARK WITHOUT BEING ANY RISK TO THE TAXIING ACFT? HE RESPONDED THAT THE CTL TWR HAD GRANTED HIM AND HIS DOGS PERMISSION TO BE WHERE HE WAS PARKED. THE COMMENT LEFT ME CONFUSED AS I WAS NOT CERTAIN IF THAT WAS TRUE OR NOT. WE WENT TO FBO AND TRIED TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO SOLVE THE PROB. THE CESSNA I WAS PILOTING THAT EVENING LEFT THE INCIDENT UNSCRATCHED; THE ONLY DAMAGE WAS THE BROKEN REAR WINDSHIELD FROM THE VEHICLE. HIS INSURANCE COMPANY DID NOT ANSWER AS THEY WORK FROM MON TO FRI FROM XA00 TO XJ00. THEREFORE HE ASKED ME FOR A LETTER WITH A COPY OF MY DRIVING LICENSE STATING THAT I DECLARED MYSELF GUILTY OF THE DAMAGE OF HIS PROPERTY AND A CHK OF TO FIX THE DAMAGE. I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIM THE LETTER STATING THAT I WAS PILOTING THE ACFT THAT CAUSED THE DAMAGE TO HIS VEHICLE. ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT THE GUILTY ROLE AND I WAS NOT GOING TO HAND HIM THE CHK AS I WAS NOT COMPLETELY CERTAIN IT WAS ENTIRELY MY FAULT. HE CALLED FOR THE COUNTY CONSTABLE AND WE BOTH WAITED FOR THEIR ARR. THEN I HAD TIME TO LOOK AT THE FARS; REGARDING THE RIGHT OF WAY IN AN ARPT AND IT IS CLRLY STATED THAT AN AIRPLANE HAS ALWAYS THE RIGHT OF WAY; WHILE TAXIING ON A TXWY. ALL TXWYS ARE CLRLY DEFINED WITH A YELLOW LINE. THIS GAVE ME THE CONCLUSION THAT IF HE IS ALSO A PLT (WHICH HE IS) HE SHOULD ALSO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE SIGNALING SYS IN AN ARPT. WHEN THE COUNTY SHERIFF ARRIVED WE TOLD HIM THE STORY. THEY TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS WRONGLY PARKED IN THE ARPT; AND THAT IF THE INCIDENT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN A PUBLIC STREET; THE SIMPLE FACT THAT HE WAS WRONGLY PARKED MADE HIM RESPONSIBLE FROM ANY INCIDENTS. BESIDES THE DOGS HAD NO PERMISSION FROM ANY ARPT AUTHS TO BE SWIMMING IN THE SEA LANE AND THAT THIS COULD JEOPARDIZE THE SECURITY OF THE ARPT; SO HE WAS TOLD. THE SHERIFF'S SUGGESTION WAS THAT WE COULD TRY TO GET INTO A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT TO TRYING TO SOLVE THE PROB. I TOLD THE PERSON WHO IDENTED HIMSELF AS MR X THAT I WAS WILLING TO NEGOTIATE ON HIS DEDUCTIBLE IN ORDER TO HAVE THE PROB SOLVED QUICKLY. THEN HE RESPONDED IN A RUDE MANNER THAT HE COULD NOT ACCEPT THOSE TERMS. FOR THIS THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FBO AT THAT TIME AND MY FELLOW PAX ON BOARD THE CESSNA 172 WITNESSED THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO COOPERATE AND REFUSED TO HAND ME HIS ADDRESS AND MORE CONTACT OTHER THAN HIS WORK AND HOUSE PHONE NUMBER. THE COUNTY CONSTABLE FILED A RPT # AND DELIVERED A FILING REQUEST FORM SO WE COULD GET HOLD OF ONE OF THIS POLICE RPTS AND WE ALL LEFT. THE NEXT DAY; HE CALLED MY PARENT'S HOUSE AND REQUESTED FROM ME LESS THAT HALF THE AMOUNT HE REQUESTED AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. AS I WAS NOT HOME HE RECORDED A MESSAGE IN THE ANSWERING MACHINE. I CONTACTED MR X'S SPOUSE TO LET HER KNOW THAT MY RPT WAS FILED ACCORDING TO THE SUGGESTION OF THE CTL TWR AND THANKED HER FOR TAKING THE MESSAGE FOR MR X. MINS AFTER THAT TELEPHONE CALL; MR X CONTACTED ME AND INSISTED ON ME DELIVERING A CHK FOR THE AMOUNT MENTIONED BEFORE I LEFT THE CITY; TO CONTINUE IN MY HOLIDAY TRIP. I REPLIED THAT I WANTED TO NEGOTIATE BEFORE; AS HE WAS NOT COOPERATIVE I WAS NOT WILLING TO FURTHER NEGOTIATE AND LEAVING THE FULL RESPONSIBILITY TO HIM ON THIS ACCIDENT. HE WAS VERY UPSET AND THREATENED ME THAT HE WAS GOING TO HAVE GO THROUGH A LAWSUIT. I AM WRITING THIS RPT IN ORDER TO FULFILL THE CTL TWR SUGGESTION AND ALSO FOR ME TO HAVE AN INCIDENT RPT.