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| Title: | Aircraft Accident Report, Piper PA-23-150, N2185P and Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-235, N4743, Tampa, Florida, November 6, 1986 (Recommended) |
| Micro summary: | This Piper PA-23 Apache collided with a Boeing 727 while landing on a taxiway. |
| Event Time: | 1986-11-06 at 1704 EST |
| File Name: | 1986-11-06-US.pdf |
| Publishing Agency: | National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) |
| Publishing Country: | USA |
| Report number: | NTSB-AAR-87-06 |
| Pages: | 57 |
| Site of event: | Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida, USA |
| First Airplane | Second Airplane | ||
| Departure: | Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida, USA | Pine Shadows Airpark, Fort Myers, Florida, USA | |
| Destination: | Unknown | Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida, USA | |
| Airplane Type(s): | Boeing 727 | Apache PA-23-150 | |
| Flight Phase: | Taxi | Landing | |
| Registration(s): | N4743 | N2185P | |
| Operator(s): | Pan American World Airways | Private | |
| Type of flight: | Revenue | Private | |
| Occupants: | 23 | 1 | |
| Fatalities: | 0 | 1 | |
| Serious Injuries: | 3 | 0 | |
| Minor/Non-Injured: | 20 | 0 | |
| Other Injuries: | 0 | 0 |
| Executive Summary: | On November 6, 1986, a Piper PA-23 Apache, N2185P, was cleared for an instrument landing system approach to runway 36L at Tampa International Airport, Florida. The pilot was unable to land during his first approach. On the second approach, the Apache touched down on taxiway W, parallel to and about 406 feet to the right (east) of runway 36L. At the same time, a Pan American Boeing 5727 was proceeding southbound on taxiway W. When the captain of the B-727 saw the Apache emerge from the fog directly ahead of him, he turned to the right in an attempt to avoid the impending collision. About 2 seconds later, the Apache's left engine struck the B-727 in the radome. Two passengers and a flight attendant were injured after they evacuated the airplane. The Apache was almost destroyed and the pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was killed. The safety issues discussed in this report include the pilot's decision to continue his approach below decision height when the visibility was below landing minimums and the adequacy of current Federal regulations that allow pilots operating under Part 91 to conduct approaches when the reported visibility is below the published minimum visibility for landing. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the decision of the pilot of the Apache airplane to continue a precision instrument approach below the published decision height when the required visual references were not distinctly visible and identifiable. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain a predeparture weather briefing before choosing a means to travel to his destination. As a result of its investigation, the Safety Board issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). One recommends that 14 CFR Part 91 be amended to prohibit a pilot from executing an instrument approach to a runway equipped with a runway visual range system that is indicating a visibility below the published landing minimum visibility. The second recommends that principal maintenance inspectors verify that any modified escape slide containers open freely and without resistance or interference. |
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