Date:	Thursday 29 December 2016
Time:	14:50
Type:	Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II
Owner/operator:	White Waltham Airfield Ltd
Registration:	G-BPAY
MSN:	28-8090191
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Minor
Category:	Accident
Location:	White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, Berkshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	White Waltham Airfield (EGLM)
Destination airport:	White Waltham Airfield (EGLM)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
AAIB investigation to Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II, G-BPAY: Collision with a parked aircraft while taxiing, White Waltham Airfield, Berkshire, 29 December 2016. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Investigation, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"After landing and while taxiing between two rows of parked aircraft, the aircraft’s left wingtip struck the propeller spinner of another, unoccupied PA-28. The pilot believed glare from the low sun contributed towards his misjudgement of the clearance between his wingtip and the other aircraft. He also noted that, although the lines of aircraft were far enough apart for his aircraft to pass, they were closer together than was usual at this airfield.

The airfield operator reported that the distance between the rows of aircraft was varied, when the ground was soft, to prevent some surface areas becoming more worn than others.

=Safety action=
Since the accident the airfield operator has changed its procedures to reduce the need for parallel rows of parked aircraft and therefore lessen the risk of ground collisions.

=Nature of Damage to airframe=
Per the AAIB report "Damage to the wingtip fairing, leading edge of the left wing and to the propeller spinner of a parked aircraft"

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/58ef9159ed915d06ac0001ae/Piper_PA-28-181_Cherokee_Archer_II_G-BPAY_05-17.pdf
2. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-BPAY/918119
3. https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult
4. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-bpay
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Waltham_Airfield

This Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II was built in 1980, and first registered in the USA as N3568X. The US registration was cancelled on 9 September 1988. It was re-registered in the UK as G-BPAY on 12 September 1988, and has had eight owners since (1988-2015).

G-BPAY: Piper PA-28 at Cotswold Airport, Kemble, Gloucestershire, (GBA/EGBP) 14 June 2017.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Apr-2024 09:49	Dr. John Smith	Added
08-Apr-2024 09:49	ASN	Updated [Accident report]