NTSB Factual Report

On August 15, 2008, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 180, N1044Y, operated by the South Carolina Forestry Commission, was substantially damaged when it struck a standing Beech J35, N4398D, while taxiing at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina. The certificated airline transport pilot of the Cessna, and the certificated commercial pilot of the Beech, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The Cessna was operating on a company visual flight rules flight plan for the public use aerial observation flight. The Beech was not operating on a flight plan for the local personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot of the tailwheel-equipped Cessna, following an uneventful 2.5 hour local aerial observation flight, he was returning to the departure airport. The pilot announced his position and intentions about 5 miles from the airport, and as he neared the airport, he heard glider traffic communications on the radio. About 2 miles from the airport, the tow master of the glider operations advised the pilot that glider winch operations were in progress.

The Cessna subsequently landed, and taxied off the runway toward the hangar area. The pilot continued along the taxiway, looking out of the side windows as he taxied. When he turned right onto a taxiway that led directly to the hangar area, he felt a "thump" and saw a man's face through his left window. He immediately shut down the engine, exited the airplane, and saw that the Cessna's propeller had torn into the Beech's left wing fuel tank. The Beech pilot then exited his airplane without incident.

According to the pilot of the Beech, he had just completed changing the oil in the airplane, and he was performing an extended run-up prior to departing on a brief local flight. He was parked near the edge of the ramp area, and believed that sufficient room was available for airplanes to exit the ramp or taxiway without difficulty. About 5 minutes into the engine run, the Beech pilot noticed a "tail dragger coming down the taxiway fairly fast." As the Cessna approached the intersection of the taxiway and the ramp area where the Beech was parked, the Cessna "came whipping around the corner" and struck the Beech. The propellers from both airplanes contacted the left wings of the opposite airplanes.

The pilot of the Cessna held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single and multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He reported 17,000 total hours of flight experience, 10,000 hours of which were in the accident airplane make and model.

The weather conditions reported at SPA, at 1535, included winds from 070 degrees at 4 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, scattered clouds at 4,300 feet, and scattered clouds at 7,000 feet.

The Federal Aviation Administration Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3A) states, "Since a tailwheel-type airplane rests on the tailwheel as well as the main landing wheels, it assumes a nose-high attitude when on the ground…Consequently, objects directly ahead of the airplane are difficult, if not impossible, to see. To observe and avoid colliding with any objects or hazardous surface conditions, the pilot should alternately turn the nose from one side to the other – that is, zigzag, or make a series of short S-turns while taxiing forward."

NTSB Probable Cause

The Cessna pilot's inadequate visual lookout.