Pilot Faulted for Capitol Drive Airport Accident

[Colleen Turner <turner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Pilot Faulted for Capitol Drive Airport Accident
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI

Last Updated: Dec. 9, 2003

Waukesha - The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that an 
accident in which a Cessna taxiing into position struck and critically injured 
a groundskeeper was caused by pilot error.

The agency's final report says the accident was caused by "inadequate visual 
outlook by the pilot during taxi."

NTSB investigator John Brannen said Tuesday that it's the pilot's job to watch 
where the plane is going, just as automobile drivers should, and that in this 
case, the pilot didn't see the groundskeeper until the plane had struck him.

"The safety board determined the pilot wasn't watching where he was going close 
enough," Brannen said.

On Sept. 6, 2002, Levi Hansen, now 20, was trimming grass along the taxiway 
when he was struck on the left side of his body by the propeller of the Cessna 
120.

Private pilot Dennis F. Disch, now 54, of Monroe was preparing for takeoff when 
the propeller struck Hansen. He told investigators he was taxiing the 
single-engine, two-seater plane to the west and was making an "S" turn. He saw 
no obstacles, then heard a noise and saw a motorized weed cutter rising outside 
the right corner of the windshield.

Disch shut down the Cessna engine and found the groundskeeper injured and lying 
on the ground.

Hansen was taken by Flight for Life to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in 
Wauwatosa.

The accident occurred at 11:15 a.m. at the Capitol Drive Airport, 21500 Gumina 
Road, Brookfield, an uncontrolled airport that allows pilots to maneuver 
without direction from personnel in a tower.

Hansen was working as a temporary employee hired through Manpower Temporary 
Services by Briggs & Stratton Corp., which provided landscaping service at the 
airport.

Hansen was wearing protective earphones and using a hand-held power grass 
trimmer, which likely prevented him from hearing the approaching plane from 
behind, police had said.

Brannen said the Cessna 120's nose sits higher than the tail, a design that 
could limit a pilot's view. Nevertheless, it's still the pilot's responsibility 
to be aware of what's going on around the plane, he said.

Milwaukee Flight Standards, which issues fines or license suspensions to pilots 
on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, would not confirm whether any 
such penalties are under consideration in this case.

Brookfield police will not seek any charges against Disch, police Capt. Phil 
Horter said.

A lawsuit has been filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court against Disch, the 
owners of the Capitol Airport and their respective insurers.

Hansen received "serious, permanent and disabling injuries," the lawsuit says. 
He is seeking unspecified monetary damages to cover medical expenses and a loss 
of income.

The lawsuit alleges Disch operated the plane negligently by not maintaining a 
proper lookout and control of the plane.

The lawsuit also alleges airport personnel failed to adequately warn pilots 
that landscape workers were on the taxiway.

The Hansen family declined to comment.

Attorneys for the parties being sued did not return phone calls.


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