Piper PA28 accident near Apopka, Florida, March 20, 2024
On March 20, 2024 at about 2:09 pm local time, a 2022 Piper PA28, registered N686JA, suffered minor damage in an accident during taxi (from runway) near Apopka, Florida (Orlando Apopka Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot and the landscape worker’s inadequate visual lookout, which resulted in a collision.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 20, 2024 · about 2:09 pm local time
- Place
- Apopka, Florida · Orlando Apopka Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA28 181, built 2022 · all PA28s on the register
- Registration
- N686JA · registry record · serial 28020086
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had landed following completion of a solo cross-country flight and was taxiing the airplane along a taxiway. A video from a security camera depicted the airplane taxiing while an individual who was not wearing visible hearing protection, audio headphones, or wearing visibility-enhancing outer clothing was performing landscape work with a powered edger alongside a building. As the airplane approached the location of the building travelling at what the pilot reported as a “standard ground speed,” the landscape worker, who reported he did not notice the airplane approaching from his left, moved towards the taxiway. As the airplane continued along the taxiway centerline, the worker moved to the edge of the taxiway with his head tilted down and then turned to the right to follow the edge of the taxiway placing his back to the approaching airplane. The outboard portion of the airplane’s right wing near the wingtip contacted the worker and knocked him forcefully to the ground resulting in serious injuries. The airplane veered slightly to the right off centerline before stopping. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane’s wing had incurred minor damage. The inspector also found that there were no discrepancies with the airplane’s braking or steering systems, nor did the pilot report any. Additionally, there were no skid marks on the taxiway and the main landing gear tires did not exhibit any flat spots consistent with no heavy braking having been applied before the collision.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- AC/prop/rotor contact w person during taxi (from runway) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Ground crew
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 39 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 3 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,097 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 15, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-B4A (piston); 1,097 hours total
- Operator: Orlando Flight Academy, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: CGC Crystal River FL at 1:39 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from KORL, 16 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KORL 201353Z 35004KT 10SM CLR 15/06 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP213 T01500061=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – FAA Digital Photograph. Left Forward Quartering View of the Airplane
Photograph 2 – FAA Digital Photograph. Right Forward Quartering View of the Airplane. Note the Damage to the Leading Edge of the Right Wing Near the WingtipThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
9 documents, released by the NTSB on November 19, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot Initial Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Statement from Student's Flight Instructor | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Contacted Individual Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 5 | FAA Inspector Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Federal Aviation Administration Automatic Dependent Surveillance A�� Broadcast (ADS-B) Tabular Data | data file | Download |
| 7 | Memorandum for Record - Video Description | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 9 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N686JA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.