Cessna 680 N320QS accident near Los Angeles, California

Probable cause

Failure of the ground service vehicle driver to maintain adequate clearance/distance from the taxiing airplane.

NTSB analysis

The captain reported that following an uneventful landing, the ground controller cleared the airplane to parking via a left turn on the adjoining taxiway. The captain stated that the flight crew observed the marshaller, who was located on the parking ramp, and continued in the direction of the parking area. Shortly after turning towards the parking ramp, the airplane collided with a ground service vehicle that pulled in front of the airplane. The service vehicle was traveling perpendicular to the airplane's direction of travel. The driver of the service vehicle reported that he was driving on the non-movement service road located adjacent to the taxiway and briefly looked away from the road towards the active runway. When the driver looked back towards the service road, he observed the accident airplane and applied brakes. The ground vehicle stopped in front of the airplane's left wing just before the collision occurred. At the time of the collision the airplane was transitioning from a movement area to a non-movement area. The service vehicle was operating in a non-movement area and not required to be in contact with air traffic control.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09LA036 for the full record.