Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / CEN24LA294

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN24LA294

2024-07-24 Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Airport · ATW None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N555ED

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

MOONEY M20J

Engine

LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19780829

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A71266

Registrant of record

POTEET-SCHWARTZ KIM L

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate wingtip clearance while taxiing. Contributing to the accident was the ambiguous nonstandard parking at the time of the incident.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while taxiing from a grass tiedown area, the airplane’s left wingtip struck the propeller of a parked airplane. She did not notice the wingtip strike, so she continued to taxi and obtained her instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance. After transitioning to the paved taxiway yellow centerline stripe, the airplane’s right wing tip struck the propeller of a second parked airplane. The pilot shut down the engine and exited the airplane to examine the damage. The airplane sustained minor damage to both wings. The incident occurred during the annual Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture fly-in. The airport issued a Notice to Air Mission that was active at the time of the incident that advised operators “FBO RAMP, T HANGER RAMP PRKG NOT STD.” The pilot stated that it was not clear to her what this meant. The pilot recommended that additional personnel for wing walkers could have prevented the incident. According to the Aeronautical Information Manual, being centered on the taxiway centerline does not guarantee wingtip clearance with other aircraft or other objects. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Aircraft-Awareness of condition
  • Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA294.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.