Arlington Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Arlington, Washington 98223
Saturday, March 19, 2011 15:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The experimental Long EZ was taxiing on taxiway A for a planned departure from the non-towered airport. About the same time, a light sport airplane (LSA) was taxiing out of a ramp area on a stub taxiway, towards taxiway A, for a planned departure. According to the Long EZ pilot, he saw the LSA approach from the right and then turned right onto taxiway A. He steered his airplane to the left side of the taxiway in an attempt to avoid the LSA. According to both persons on board the LSA, as they approached the taxiway, they looked to the right and left, and then proceeded onto taxiway A via a right turn. Shortly after the LSA joined the taxiway centerline, the Long EZ's right vertical stabilizer struck the LSA's left aileron. The LSA's rotating propeller struck the right canard of the Long EZ. The airplanes came to a stop near the edge of taxiway A, about 75 feet beyond the center of the stub taxiway. A chain link fence near the taxiway limited the pilots' ability to see one another until they were close to the taxiway intersection. However, none of the pilots involved reported that the LSA stopped before it turned onto taxiway A. Subsequent to the accident, the fixed base operator modified their standard operating procedures to require pilots to stop prior to entering taxiway A.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The LSA pilots' failure to stop and to ensure that the taxiway was clear of conflicting traffic before entering.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/19/2011
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Arlington
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98223
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 480938N
Event Location Longitude 1220932W
Event Location Airport Arlington Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AWO
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 142
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID PAE
Elevation of weather observation facility 150
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.74
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28360
NTSB Notification Source FAA NWM ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 18 2011 8:02AM
User who most recently changed record rows
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Registration Number N386GX N11NL
NTSB Number WPR11CA171A WPR11CA171B
Missing Aircraft Indicator -- --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No --
Damage Substantial Substantial
Aircraft Fire None None
Aircraft Explosion None None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Remos Gould
Aircraft Model GX Rutan
Aircraft Series Identifier -- Long EZ
Aircraft Serial Number 309 1108
Certified Max Gross Weight 1320 1500
Aircraft Category Airplane Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class -- --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No Yes
Flight Crew Seats -- --
Cabin Crew Seats -- --
Passenger Seats -- --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2 2
Number of Engines 1 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 7 2011 12:00AM Sep 20 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection -- --
Airframe Hours 271 475
ELT Installed Yes Yes
ELT Activated No No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No No
ELT Type C91-A C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name Aging Consultation Services Leland Gould
Aircraft Owner Street Address -- --
Aircraft Owner City Lake Forest Park Arlington
Aircraft Owner State WA WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98155 98223
Operator is an individual? Yes Yes
Operator Name Aging Consultation Services Leland Gould
Operator Same as Owner? Yes Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As -- --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes Yes
Operator Street Address -- --
Operator City Lake Forest Park Arlington
Operator State WA WA
Operator Country USA USA
Operator Zip code 98155 98223
Operator Code -- --
Owner has at least one certificate None None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No No
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 Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes Yes
Departure Airport Code AWO AWO
Departure City Arlington Arlington
Departure State WA WA
Departure Country USA USA
Departure Time 1100 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt -- dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code RNT AWO
Destination City Renton Arlington
Destination State WA WA
Destination Country USA USA
Specific Phase of Flight -- --
Report sent to ICAO? -- --
Evacuation occurred -- --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2011 4:34PM Apr 21 2011 3:37PM
User who most recently changed record coos coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A N/A
Runway Length -- --
Runway Width -- --
Sight Seeing flight No No
Air Medical Flight No No
Medical Flight -- --