Diamond DA 42 NG N621ZC
4 April 2018 · Bozeman, Montana, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 4 April 2018 at about 18:29 local time, a Diamond DA 42 NG registered N621ZC, operated by Summit Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Bozeman, Montana, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:29
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Bozeman, Montana, United States
- Nearest airport
- Bozeman Yellowstone Intl (BZN)
- Coordinates
- 45.7786, -111.1561
- Aircraft
- Diamond DA 42 NG
- Registration
- N621ZC
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2012
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Summit Aviation Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Bozeman → Bozeman
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR18LA118
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Probable cause
The student pilot and flight instructor's failure to see and avoid the stationary airplane during taxi, which resulted in a ground collision.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The tailwheel-equipped airplane had completed a series of touch-and-go takeoffs and landings with the student pilot in the front seat and flight instructor in the rear seat. The airplane was equipped with large tundra tires which, in combination with the tailwheel configuration, provided limited forward visibility when on the ground. The tower controller cleared the pilots to cross the landing runway, and then subsequently cleared the airplane across the parallel runway, which led it onto a taxiway where a low-wing airplane, having just cleared the parallel runway after landing, was stopped and preparing to contact ground control. Neither of the pilots onboard the tailwheel airplane saw the low-wing airplane before they collided with it on the taxiway, resulting in substantial damage to both airplanes. The student pilot stated that he perceived that he should expedite the taxi across the parallel runway due to airplanes on approach to that runway, although review of air traffic control voice recordings revealed that the controller issued no instructions to expedite the taxi. Because of the faster taxi speed, the pilots did not perform any "S"-turn maneuvers to enhance forward visibility, which likely would have allowed them to see the low-wing airplane and prevented the collision.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond DA 42 NG NG | N621ZC | Summit Aviation Inc | Substantial |
| Piper PA 12 NO SERIES | N7709H | - | Substantial |
Other Diamond DA-42 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jul 2019 | Diamond DA 42 NG | Palatka, Florida, United States | Phoenix East Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 17 Aug 2021 | Diamond DA-42 | Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States | Midwest Corporate Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 2021 | Diamond DA 42 | Brigham City, Utah, United States | Utah State University | No injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 2022 | Diamond DA 42 | Long Beach, California, United States | Pughs Air West LLC | No injuries | - |
| 25 May 2022 | Diamond DA 42 | Ontario, Canada | - | No injuries | - |
| 1 Sep 2022 | Diamond DA 42 | Orlando, Florida, United States | MyFlight LLC | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jan 2018 | Buckeye DREAM MACHINE 582 | Chester, Montana, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 2018 | Piper PA 22 | Shelby, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 19 Jul 2018 | Cessna 180 | Bozeman, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 2018 | Mooney M20E | Great Falls, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Apr 2018 | Brown Joseph SPORTSMAN GS-2 | Kalispell, Montana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 2018 | Taylorcraft BC12 | Cut Bank, Montana, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |