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Atlas / NTSB / WPR20CA120

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR20CA120

2020-03-31 Palm Springs, California, United States Airport · UDD None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N679X

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-28R-201T

Year of manufacture

1977 · 43 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19770411

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A8FF34

Registrant of record

CHAGRES AERO LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to see and avoid a parked vehicle near the taxiway edge.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while taxiing to the runway, the airplane veered hard to the left. He shut down the engine and saw that the left wing had struck the windshield of a small truck that was parked at the edge of the taxiway. Neither he nor his passenger saw the truck as the color of the truck blended in with the background of a hangar. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, while taxiing to the runway, the airplane veered hard to the left. He shut down the engine and saw that the left wing had struck the windshield of a small truck parked at the edge of the taxiway near a hangar. He stated that, due to its location and color, neither he nor his passenger saw the truck because it blended in with the background of the hangar. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane 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 environment-Pilot - C
  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Ground vehicle-Effect on operation - C
  • Personnel issues-Psychological-Perception/orientation/illusion-Perception-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20CA120.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.