Piper PA-31-350 accident near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, November 5, 2007
On November 5, 2007 at about 4:10 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N980JH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Tuscaloosa Regional Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain a visual look out while taxing resulting in an on-ground collision with a parked airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 5, 2007 · about 4:10 am local time
- Place
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama · Tuscaloosa Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N980JH · no longer on the register · serial 31-8052179
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Piper pilot stated he received his instrument flight rules clearance from ground control, and was cleared to taxiway Foxtrot and Alpha en-route to runway 04 for takeoff. He taxied slowly on the taxiway centerline using the taxi and landing lights. The pilot noticed a parked airplane to his right and applied brakes. The airplane yawed to the left, and the right wing of the airplane collided with the left side of the fuselage of a parked Cessna Citation. The pilot stopped the airplane, notified ground control that he had collided with another airplane, and performed an engine shut down. The pilot exited the airplane and determined that both airplanes had received substantial damage.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,720 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 7,250 as pilot in command; 1,224 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,290 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 1, 2007; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,200 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Southeast Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KTCL Tuscaloosa AL at 4:10 am
- Destination: KRYY Marietta GA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 11, 4,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 am from TCL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.