Piper PA-31-350 N40978

Summary

On 11 July 2006 at about 19:25 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N40978 was involved in an accident near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 July 2006 at 19:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Indianapolis International (IND)

Coordinates

39.7167, -86.3000

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N40978

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Indianapolis → Indianapolis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI06CA181

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the tug driver to maintain clearance from the airplane taxiing on an active taxiway. A factor was the night conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A tug used to move ground carts collided with the left side of a twin-engine airplane while the airplane was taxiing on an active taxiway at night. The air traffic control (ATC) tower had cleared the airplane to taxi to the active runway via Delta taxiway. The airplane collided with the tug at the intersection of Delta taxiway and a service road. The tug was pulling five carts and was traveling from left to right through the intersection. The pilot reported that after the collision he saw a ground vehicle under the left engine and initially thought it was an abandoned vehicle because he did not see any lights on the vehicle. The pilot notified ATC concerning the collision, and then shut down the airplane. The tug driver reported that he stopped before entering the intersection and did not see any of the airplane's lights.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.