N8178N

On May 21, 1999, at 1450 hours Pacific daylight time, a Beech A36, N8178N, collided with a parked semitrailer while taxiing at the Willows-Glenn County Airport, Willows, California. The airplane was operated by Japan Airlines Flight Crew Training Center, Napa, California, as an instructional flight and sustained substantial damage. The solo student pilot was not injured. The round trip cross-country flight had originated earlier that day at an unspecified time from the Napa airport, with scheduled stops at the Merced, California, airport, and the Willows airport. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed and activated. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed along the route of flight.

The student pilot reported that while he was landing on runway 31, he heard a pilot announce over the UNICOM frequency that he was entering the left downwind leg for the same runway. Another pilot stated that he was making a straight-in approach for an intersecting runway. The pilot reported that he had planned to taxi the full length of the runway then turn right to the transient parking, but changed his mind when he heard the approaching aircraft. He stated that after turning left onto a midfield taxiway, he saw a parked trailer off to his right side. He remained on the taxiway centerline watching for the landing traffic, and reported that he was not able to pay attention to his right wing tip. The aircraft swerved to the right and the right wing impacted the tandem semitrailer. The aircraft spun around and the nose became embedded between the two trailers.

According to a representative from the flight school, the trailers were being used for seasonal agricultural operations and were not normally on the airport.