WPR20CA120
2020-03-31 · Palm Springs, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport UDD
Current FAA registration · N679X
- 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
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
FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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 ↗.
Search this event elsewhere
External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.
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