Small plane clips fuel truck at Sonoma County airport; no one hurt

Sheriff’s deputies responded Saturday evening to a minor collision between a fuel truck and a small propeller plane at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the pilot of a two-seat Cessna 150 was “hand-cranking” the propeller, to start the motor. “He was hand-cranking the aircraft and apparently it got away from him,” said Jon Stout, the airport manager.

The plane rolled 15 to 20 feet and “clipped a fuel truck,” leaving a slight dent on the truck, Stout said. The truck had been fueling another plane nearby.

No fuel was spilled, and there were no injuries or environmental issues, according to Sgt. Scott McKinnon of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Stout could not provide the pilot’s name. He did say the pilot was not local and had flown in from another airport.

While the incident was minor, it was reported to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is standard procedure, Stout said.

Asked how often such collisions occur, Stout replied, “The is the first one I’ve heard of at my airport, and I’ve been here 18 years.”