Schweizer Aircraft Corp G-164B N8214S accident near Biggs, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to adequately monitor the runway environment during taxi, which resulted in an on-ground collision.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, while in the traffic pattern for landing, he was told by ground operations personnel that maintenance was being performed on the runway. The pilot scanned the area and saw trucks parked on the south end of the airstrip property but nothing on the runway. The pilot continued the landing, and taxied the airplane down the runway after landing. Although the pilot was performing s-turns for visibility purposes, he did not see service equipment on the runway, and the airplane collided with it and the operator of that equipment. The operator, who was fatally injured, was pushing a blower down the center of the runway and was wearing hearing protection at the time of the collision. It is likely that, due to the hearing protection and the sound of the blower, the operator did not hear the airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed minor damage to both the inlet scoop and the lower right wing lower surface.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR13LA223 for the full record.