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Atlas / NTSB / SEA01LA171

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event SEA01LA171

2001-09-08 Seattle, Washington, United States Airport · BFI None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N20675

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 172M

Year of manufacture

1973 · 28 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19730305

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A1ABB8

Registrant of record

FIRST FLIGHT CORP

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

Pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout during taxi. A fence was a factor.

Factual narrative

On September 8, 2001, about 1500 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N20675, sustained substantial damage after taxiing into a temporary construction fence at Boeing Field/ King County International Airport, Seattle, Washington. The airplane is registered to the pilot, and was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological provisions prevailed. The pilot submitted a written report to the NTSB dated September 27, and reported that shortly after landing, he was cleared to taxi the airplane to the northeast parking area via taxiway Alpha. He reported that while traveling northbound on the taxiway he encountered an airplane that was traveling southbound on the same taxiway. In an effort to avoid the oncoming (southbound) airplane, he maneuvered the airplane to the easterly edge of the taxiway and inadvertently collided with the temporary construction fence. The pilot submitted a written report to the NTSB, and reported that shortly after landing, he was cleared to taxi the airplane to the northeast parking area via taxiway Alpha. He reported that while traveling northbound on the taxiway he encountered an airplane that was traveling southbound on the same taxiway. In an effort to avoid the oncoming (southbound) airplane, he maneuvered the airplane to the easterly edge of the taxiway and inadvertently collided with the temporary construction fence. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2001_SEA01LA171.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.