| Crash location | 32.420834°N, 99.854444°W |
| Nearest city | Abilene, TX
32.448736°N, 99.733144°W 7.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N15797 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 24 Jun 2005 |
| Aircraft type | Canadian Car & Foundry Mark IV |
| Additional details: | None |
On June 24, 2005, approximately 1150 central daylight time (CDT), a vintage North American T-28B single-engine airplane, N9060F, was substantially damaged upon collision with another airplane while holding short on taxiway Delta at Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), near Abilene, Texas. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Trojan Phlyers II Inc, of Fort Worth, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from Hicks Airfield (T67), near Fort Worth, Texas, at 1110, and was destined for DYS.
In a written statement, the 27,996-hour pilot of a vintage tail-wheel equipped Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard MK IV single-engine airplane, N15797, reported that after performing a formation 360-degree overhead approach as a flight of two, the control tower told the lead airplane to execute a go-around. N15797 was then cleared to land. During the landing roll on the active runway, the tower informed N15797 to exit on the next available taxiway, and then contact ground control.
After exiting the active runway onto taxiway Delta, the pilot switched to 119.35 megahertz (MHz), the ground control frequency depicted on his Jeppesen IFR Flight Star printout and Global Positioning System (GPS). After calling on this frequency, the pilot was notified that the correct ground control frequency was 118.35 MHz.
While taxiing on taxiway Delta, the pilot switched to the correct frequency. While taxiing the pilot stated that he heard the sound of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) beacon, and thinking that the signal was emitting from his airplane, he attempted to reset the ELT while he continued to taxi.
While taxiing straight ahead the pilot of N15797 allowed his airplane to collide with N9060F, which was holding short of taxiway Alpha on taxiway Delta awaiting further taxiing instructions.
Examination of the T-28B by an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator were separated from the fuselage. Examination of the Harvard MK IV revealed that the propeller and engine cowling were damaged.
**This report was modified on April 8, 2008.**
The other pilot's failure to maintain clearance while taxiing. Contributing factors were the other pilot's diverted attention and the inaccurate frequency listing for ground control.