Whiteman Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Los Angeles, California 91331
Saturday, December 10, 2005 10:20 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane's left wingtip struck a parked car while taxiing to its hangar after a flight. The accident occurred in the non-movement area of the airport. The car was stopped on the side of a taxi lane as the first two airplanes passed by it. As the third airplane (accident airplane) passed by it, the left wingtip struck the windshield. The accident pilot indicated that he was not able to judge the distance between the airplane's wingtip and the car due to sun glare from the car's windshield. The airport manager indicated that the car was as far to the side as possible and not encroaching on the taxiway, and that there was about 300 feet of space for the airplane to safely pass the car. The driver of the car reported that he was using a taxi lane commonly used for vehicle traffic and his car was stopped while all three airplanes were taxiing. The first two passed with no problems, and then the third airplane's wingtip struck his windshield.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from a parked vehicle.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/10/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1020
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Los Angeles
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 91331
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 341534N
Event Location Longitude 1182448W
Event Location Airport WHITEMAN
Event Location Nearest Airport ID WHP
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 19564
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Dec 19 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-VNY-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4403K
NTSB Number LAX06CA062
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 Ryan
Aircraft Model Navion
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number Nav-4-1403
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3765.09
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Thomas R. Polizzi
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Studio City
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91604
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code WHP
Departure City Los Angeles
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code WHP
Destination City Los Angeles
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 20 2006 5:29PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --