Accident Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster N989FX,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 320347

Date:	Tuesday 24 February 2015
Time:	06:12
Type:	Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster
Owner/operator:	FedEx Express
Registration:	N989FX
MSN:	208B2403
Year of manufacture:	2012
Total airframe hrs:	1103 hours
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Substantial, repaired
Category:	Accident
Location:	Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI) - United States of America
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Newark-Liberty International Airport, NJ (EWR/KEWR)
Destination airport:	Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI/KBWI)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Cessna 208B, N989FX, was substantially damaged when its empennage struck the ground while taxiing at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), Maryland. The pilot was not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated from Newark Liberty International (EWR), New Jersey and was destined for BWI.
Following an uneventful flight, the pilot landed the airplane on runway 33R at BWI, before exiting to the left onto taxiway J. The airplane then continued to taxi to the southwest and transitioned onto taxiway AA. As the airplane approached the intersection of the taxiway and a service road, a ground service vehicle approached from the airplane's right. The pilot applied the airplane's brakes and full reverse thrust, and the airplane came to a stop. The ground service vehicle passed in front of the airplane at an estimated distance of between two and three feet, and the vehicle and the airplane did not collide.
The pilot stated that the "hard" braking and reverse thrust application caused the nose landing gear strut to compress, resulting in a "spring effect that was multiplied by removing reverse thrust rapidly." The airplane then pitched up and the empennage struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane's systems.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The ground service vehicle operator's failure to yield right of way to the airplane due to distraction, which necessitated the pilot's use of reverse thrust and braking to avoid a collision and resulted in the airplane's empennage striking the ground."

Accident investigation: