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LAX89FA086

1989-01-17 · LOS ANGELES, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport LAX

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE FUEL TANKER DRIVER TO SEE AND AVOID THE MOVING AIRCRAFT. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE DRIVER'S OBSTRUCTED VISIBILITY THROUGH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE'S CAB, AND THE DUSK LIGHT CONDITIONS.

Factual narrative

THE SA227 HAD LANDED & WAS TAXIING TO THE GATE WITH THE TAXI, LANDING, RECOGNITION & STROBE LIGHTS OFF. AS IT TAXIED NORTHBOUND TOWARD THE GATE, THE DRIVER OF AN EASTBOUND FUEL TANKER TRUCK FAILED TO STOP AT A POSTED 'STOP FOR ACFT' SIGN AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE VEHICLE SERVICE ROAD & THE TAXIWAY. THE TANKER TRUCK COLLIDE WITH, AND PARTIALLY SEVERED, THE ACFT'S LEFT WING. THE DRIVER OF THE TANKER TRUCK INDICATED THAT HE DID NOT OBSERVE THE ACFT UNTIL IT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS TRUCK & THEN IT WAS TOO LATE TO STOP. THE TANKER TRUCK DRIVER'S 1:30-2:00 VIEW VIEW WAS PARTIALLY BLOCKED BY THE TRUCK STRUCTURE; THE 2:00-3:00 VIEW CONSIDERABLY RESTRICTED BY THE TRUCK'S CAGE STRUCTURE & EQUIPMENT CONTAINED THEREIN. AIRPORT REGULATIONS REQUIRE THAT 'LOW SILHOUTTE' AIRCRAFT TAXI WITH LANDING LIGHTS ON UNTIL CLEAR OF TAXIWAYS AND INTERSECTING VEHICLE ACCESS ROADS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX89FA086.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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