Denver International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Denver, Colorado 80249
Tuesady, July 15, 1997 4:45 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After landing, while taxiing to park in the air freight area of the airport, the aircraft was struck by an employee shuttle bus. The shuttle bus was in transit on a service road that crossed the taxiway. This occurred on a dark night in an area with bright background lights. According to information provided by Airport Operations, the bus failed to yield a right-of-way at an airport road/ramp taxiway crossing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

inadequate visual lookout by the bus driver. Factors relating to the accident were: darkness and bright background lighting.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/15/1997
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 445
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City DENVER
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80249
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport DENVER INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DEN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5431
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 453 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID DVX
Elevation of weather observation facility 5431
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 966
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 15 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 559
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N800SA
NTSB Number FTW97LA267
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-31-350
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-31-350
Aircraft Serial Number 31-8152012
Certified Max Gross Weight 7250
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 19 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 6530
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN R. STANTON & MARY M. VOOG
Aircraft Owner Street Address P. O. BOX 6156
Aircraft Owner City CHESTERFIELD
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 63006
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name AMERICAN CHECK TRANSPORT, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 3700 HAVANA STREET
Operator City DENVER
Operator State CO
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 80239
Operator Code VOXA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code APA
Departure City ENGLEWOOD
Departure State CO
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code DEN
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --