Mcghee Tyson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Knoxville, Tennessee 37701
Monday, December 3, 2012 15:50 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

At the conclusion of an evaluation flight, the left seat pilot taxied the airplane to the hangar area under the direction of the right seat pilot. After reaching the hangar area, the left seat pilot initiated a 180-degree turn in order to better position the airplane for postflight ground handling. During the turn, the right side of the horizontal stabilizer struck one of the hangar’s support beams, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, as well as the empennage. Following the accident, the operator instituted a new policy, which stated that an external spotter should be used when maneuvering in the vicinity of obstacles.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots’ decision to maneuver the airplane in close proximity to a hangar.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/3/2012
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Knoxville
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37701
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354804N
Event Location Longitude 0835904W
Event Location Airport McGhee Tyson Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TYS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 981
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID TYS
Elevation of weather observation facility 981
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.2
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30991
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROCC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 25 2013 4:55PM
User who most recently changed record gots
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N44PA
NTSB Number ERA13CA081
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 BEECH
Aircraft Model F90
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number LA-149
Certified Max Gross Weight 10950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 8
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Oct 11 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 8714
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name SASSAFRAS AVIATION LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 314 ERIN DR STE 102
Aircraft Owner City KNOXVILLE
Aircraft Owner State TN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37919-6210
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Grande Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 10919 Murdock Dr
Operator City Knoxville
Operator State TN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 37932
Operator Code 9GEA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number 9GEA814M
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 2A0
Departure City Dayton
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1515
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code TYS
Destination City Knoxville
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 21 2012 3:58PM
User who most recently changed record diad
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --