Grand Forks Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grand Forks, North Dakota 58201
Thursday, February 21, 2002 16:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane struck a parked van while taxiing to the parking area. The student pilot said that while taxiing, she noticed a van pull up in front of the airplane. She said that she , "... remembered what [she] had been taught about staying on the yellow line. If [she] stayed on the yellow line, [she] would clear obstacles." She said that was watching for people that may be coming out of parked airplanes and she, "... wasn't giving that attention to [her] wingtip." The right wing of the airplane subsequently struck the parked van causing substantial damage to the airplane. In her written statement, the pilot listed no mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot not maintaining clearance from a parked van while taxiing to the parking area. The van was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Grand Forks
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58201
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport GRAND FORKS INTL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GFK
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 845
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID GFK
Elevation of weather observation facility 845
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.32
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12178
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 7 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Fargo, North Dakota

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N274ND
NTSB Number CHI02LA086
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2842074
Certified Max Gross Weight 2447
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Feb 18 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 2109
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name University of North Dakota
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 9007
Aircraft Owner City Grand Forks
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58202
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code GFK
Departure City Grand Forks
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - from landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2002 8:29AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --