Pilatus PC-12 Collided with Pick-Up Truck During Dusk Take Off

Pilatus PC-12 Collided with Pick-Up Truck During Dusk Take Off (N1220A)

On 14 September 2020 privately owned Pilatus PC-12/47E N1220A struck the aircraft owner’s own pick-up truck vehicle during a duck take off from a private airstrip at River’s End Ranch. Lake Abert near Lake View, Oregon.   The three occupants of the aircraft were unharmed.  The pick-up truck was unoccupied.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report that the incident occurred at 1930 Local Time (sunset was at 1910) during take off from the 3000 x 100 ft strip.

The pilot told the NTSB in a telephone interview that he “just didn’t see the truck”.  There were no pre-impact aircraft defects.

As of 8 January 2021 the pilot had not submitted an accident report form to NTSB.

UPDATE 15 July 2021: NTSB Releases Probable Cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from an object during the takeoff ground roll due to inadequate monitoring of the environment.

As with most probable cause statements, this is more a statement of what happened rather than why.

Safety Resources

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• UPDATE 5 March 2022: Taxiing AW139 Blade Strike on Maintenance Stand
• UPDATE 2 April 2022: Investigation into Collision of Truck with Police Helicopter

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