- Date
- May 10, 2002, 17:30 local (May 11, 2002, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N6475ECessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA Fairbanks FSDO-01
- FAA report
- 20020510009709A
- Case key
- 54670
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilots improper starting procedure. Factors associated with the accident are the continued operation of the airplane with a known mechanical deficiency, and failure to use wheel chocks and/or tie-down rope/straps to restrain the airplane during the engine starting procedure.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was preparing for a flight to his home airport. He had been having problems with the airplane's starter not engaging, and decided to hand-prop the airplane as he had done in the past. The airplane was not chocked or tied down. When the engine started the airplane surged forward, and the pilot was not able to physically hold the airplane. The airplane accelerated across the ramp and collided with a hangar. The airplane's right wing leading edge, ribs, and spar were damaged, as was the fuselage aft of the passenger compartment. There were no injuries associated with the accident.
Factual narrative
On May 10, 2002, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N6475E, sustained substantial damage during an engine starting procedure at the Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. There were no passengers aboard the airplane, and the private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Koyukuk, Alaska, was the intended destination of the flight.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on May 10, the pilot said he had been having problems with the airplane's starter not engaging. He said he was attempting to start the engine in preparation for a flight to Koyukuk. There was no one at the controls, and the airplane was not chocked or tied-down, but the parking brake was set, when he attempted to start the engine by hand-propping. He said when the engine started, the parking brake was not able to keep the airplane stopped. The pilot was unable to physically hold the airplane, and it accelerated across the ramp and collided with a hangar. The hangar was damaged, and the airplane's right wing leading edge, ribs, and spar were damaged. The fuselage aft of the passenger compartment was also damaged. There were no injuries caused by the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6475E
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46575
- Airframe hours
- 2,380
- Engine
- Lycoming O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Christopher Jans
- Registered owner
- Christopher Jans
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 2001 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- PAFA · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- KYU · Koyukuk, AK
- Airport
- PAFA · Fairbanks International
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 200 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- PAFA
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 24, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 427 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.