Event GAA17CA077

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that he was cleared to taxi to the departure runway. He added that while taxiing he was doing S-turns to see over the nose of his airplane, and "must have missed a call to the aircraft [airplane] ahead of him," which had been instructed to hold short of the upcoming taxiway. His airplane impacted the empennage of the stopped airplane that was holding short. His airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, and the stopped airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage. Both pilots reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with their airplane's that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he was cleared to taxi to the departure runway. He added that, while taxiing, he was doing S-turns to see over the nose of his airplane, and "must have missed a call to the aircraft [airplane] ahead of him," which had been instructed to hold short of the upcoming taxiway. His airplane impacted the empennage of the stopped airplane that was holding short. His airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, and the stopped airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage. Both pilots reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with their airplanes that would have precluded normal operation. 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).

• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-Pilot - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Aircraft-Effect on operation - C
• C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-Pilot of other aircraft - C
• C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Aircraft-Effect on operation - C