Hello everyone. I am writing this post after a collision today between a parked aircraft and a Cessna in which I was giving instruction. The aircraft that we collided with was an LSA which was improperly parked too close to the active taxiway. My student was taxiing on taxiway center line and I was providing feedback about the landing he had just performed. I let my guard down for that split second, took my eyes from outside the cockpit and wham. Our right wing clipped the rudder of the LSA separating it from the vertical. We were the first aircraft to take this taxiway after the LSA had parked. It is my responsibility as an instructor to ensure safe operation of the aircraft no matter what. As a pilot my job is to maintain visual separation from all other aircraft in the air and on the ground, improperly parked or not. I am just starting my career as a pilot and I feel terribly about this. I have a lot of questions running through my head and I want to know how this might affect my career as a pilot. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

You should be okay. SWA does it every other week...

Was the incident duly reported to the NTSB? Did anyone in any official capacity come to the scene?

Fess up to the owner(s), get the mechanics estimates done, file the insurance claim or whatever it takes to get the planes fixed, and make an incident report to ASRS. Try to avoid placing the blame anywhere in the report, just tell what happened. You probably will never hear about it from the FAA. In the future if you are asked on a job app about it be honest and say it was a moment of inattention but leave out the part about how they other guy was stupid and the plane was not where it was supposed to be parked. You learned not to do that anymore and it was a hard lesson and you have been 100% safe ever since, even when others are not adequately safe. It will probably have no effect on your flying future, or if it does then you probably do not want to work at that company anyway. There is a damage definition in the NTSB rules, check that out. I think it's anything over $25k must be reported, so maybe you can get out of making an NTSB report if it's less than that. This too shall pass as they say. We all have a bad day every now and then- it's how we deal with it that counts.

Did anyone from the local ATC facility observe the incident? Was there any communications with airport ops personnel? If either of those entities observed or got involved, there is a good chance it was or will get reported to FSDO. Get your FAR/AIM and review NTSB 830 just in case. Retain the paragraph you have written here in case a written statement is requested, such as from an insurance co.

Sorry this happend to you and your student. It could have been ANY of us in your shoes. This is a good reminder to all of us to "expect the unexpected" and stay vigilant in 2015...

If you don't have the AOPA legal plan or other professional liability insurance, now is a good time to look into those for piece of mind going forward.

V/R

First step, don't post about this on the internet.

Second step, make sure you do step one.

If the rudder is damaged and needs to be replaced, it falls under the definition of "substantial damage" per NTSB 830. An aircraft that has received substantial damage falls under the definition of an accident and requires immediate notification of the NTSB.

Definitely file a NASA form. According to the regs, you also have to immediately notify the NTSB. I would consult with an AOPA lawyer, though, before you do anything. I'm really sorry you're in the situation. It could happen to anybody.

Yes.

Yes. The problem here may be in assessing the dollar value of the damage...it's probably near the threshold and you may not know the answer until the repairs are complete. You may need a lawyer to advise you how to proceed in the case of an unknown damage amount.

Yes. If I had seen the original post earlier I would have done you a favor and deleted it but it's probably too late now. Anything you say from here on out should not contradict this post.

In the grand scheme of things this will be a fairly minor glitch in your career. I suspect the biggest issue may be financial responsibility...whoever insured the airplane you were flying will get sued, and they may very well turn around and sue you. This is called subrogation, and typically means the owner is protected by the policy, but the insurer can then sue any renters/CFI's to recoup THEIR losses. You need to get smart on the details of the insurance and talk to a lawyer if subrogation is a possibility.

File a NASA report and wait 90 days for it to be viewed. You'll be alright.

Your 5th amendment rights are still preserved, get a lawyer immediately and stop writing and talking about this.