SEA98LA071

Factual narrative

On May 3, 1998, approximately 1130 Pacific daylight time, the right wing of a Cessna 172M, N1673V, impacted a light pole while being taxied to a parking spot at Ocean Shores Municipal Airport, Ocean Shores, Washington. The commercial pilot and his two passengers were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by Evergreen Flying Club, Bellevue, Washington, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight, which departed Renton, Washington, about two hours earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. While en route to Ocean Shores, the pilot had been on an IFR flight plan, but he had canceled IFR prior to landing. There was no report of an ELT activation. According to the pilot, after landing on runway 33 at Ocean Shores, he turned off the runway at the midfield exit and entered the southeast corner of the parking ramp. He pulled into a parking spot near the southeast corner, but realized there were no tie-down ropes. He therefore proceeded to the last row of tie-downs on the west edge of the ramp and started a left turn to line up with one of those spots. Soon after starting the left turn, the aircraft's right wing impacted a telephone pole located near the edge of the parking ramp. The pole was being used as a light standard for lights that illuminate the parking ramp. Although the FAA made the NTSB aware on May 4, that there was a report of an aircraft having sustained damage at Ocean Shores on May 3, the pilot did not contact the NTSB until May 11. After landing, the pilot started to park in a spot near the southeast end of the parking ramp. Seeing that there were no tie-down ropes in that row, he decided to taxi to a spot at the far west part of the ramp. While attempting to park the aircraft in a tie-down location on the western most row, he failed to see a light standard (utility pole) located just off the western edge of the ramp. As he began his turn to align the aircraft with the parking spot, the aircraft's right wing impacted the pole. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12