Primary finding
Probable cause
Pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a forklift while taxiing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The private pilot was taxiing through a private residential flying community on a taxiway that was bordered by residential homes and hangers when he came across an airplane off his right side, and a commercial forklift that was working on a hangar door to his left. The pilot maneuvered further left to avoid the airplane but struck the forklift with his left wing. The impact spun his airplane left into the bushes and resulted in substantial damage; it sheared off about 9 inches of the outboard wing and resulted in the left wing canting aft, further damaging the airframe. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.