19960120000799I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 177RG · Meade, KS · January 20, 1996

Date: January 20, 1996 · 08:00 local
Place: Meade, KS
Airport: Meade Municipal Airport
Phase of flight: Starting Engines
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N52945
Reported as: Cessna 177RG
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 3,500 total200 in this make and model3 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: the pilot found the battery was too low to start the aircraft. He instructed his wife to hold the brakes and to operate the throttle while he hand propped the aircraft. The engine started, but his wife increased the throttle instead of retarding it. The engine power overcame her ability to hold the brakes and rolled off the ramp into a ditch before she could retard the throttle. The aircraft suffered minor damage to the prop and nose gear.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: THE PILOT FOUND THE BATTERY WAS TOO LOW TO START THE AIRCRAFT. HE INSTRUCTED HIS WIFE TO HOLD THE BRAKES AND TO OPERATE THE THROTTLE WHILE HE HAND PROPPED THE AIRCRAFT. THE ENGINE STARTED, BUT HIS WIFE INCREASED THE THROTTLE INSTEAD OF RETARDING IT. THE ENGINE POWER OVERCAME HER ABILITY TO HOLD THE BRAKES AND ROLLED OFF THE RAMP INTO A DITCH BEFORE SHE COULD RETARD THE THROTTLE. THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE PROP AND NOSE GEAR.