- Date
- February 7, 2004, 12:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Summerville, SC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N21266Piper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Columbia FSDO - 13
- FAA report
- 20040207000949A
- Case key
- 58712
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 pilot's inadequate start procedure, which resulted in a run-away airplane.
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 set the parking brake and attempted to start the airplane by rotating the propeller by hand. The airplane started and moved forward, and the pilot climbed up on the right wing to enter the cockpit but slipped and fell to the ground. The pilot grabbed onto the cabin step and was dragged as he attempted to gain access to the cockpit. When the pilot realized a collision with a parked airplane was imminent, he released his hold on the cabin step. The airplane taxied unmanned and collided with a parked airplane. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On February 7, 2004, at 1245 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-161, N21266, registered to and operated by a private owner, taxied unmanned into a parked airplane at Summerville Airport, Summerville, South Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane and a parked airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was originating from Summerville, South Carolina, at the time of the accident.
The pilot was preparing for a flight to Columbia, South Carolina, to deliver the airplane for avionics maintenance. The pilot stated that when he engaged the starter, it made a spinning noise, and the airplane would not start. The pilot set the parking brake and attempted to start the airplane by rotating the propeller by hand. The airplane started and moved forward, and the pilot climbed up on the right wing to enter the cockpit but slipped and fell to the ground. The pilot grabbed onto the cabin step and was dragged as he attempted to gain access to the cockpit. When the pilot realized a collision with a parked airplane was imminent, he released his hold on the cabin step. The airplane taxied unmanned and collided with a parked airplane.
Examination of the airplane revealed damage to the right wing spar and propeller, and the parked airplane sustained damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21266
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7916031
- Airframe hours
- 3,157
- Engine
- Aero Engines O-360-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Johnny R Hoy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 21, 2003 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- KDYB · Summerville, SC
- Destination
- KCAE · Columbia, SC
- Airport
- KDYB · Summerville, SC
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
- 27
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 375 total · 200 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- KCHS, 16 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.