- Date
- March 21, 1990, 16:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf Shores, AL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N4373LCessna 172G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900321004879A
- Case key
- 8220
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
Failure of the pilot to obtain proper assistance or properly secure the aircraft when he left it unattended with the engine running.
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 on the ramp preparing for a banner tow flight and had left the cockpit unattended. He reported that the parking brake was set, the throttle was at idle with the engine running, and the left main tire was chocked. As he was helping his wife carry the banner to the pick up area, he noticed that the airplane was moving. He chased the airplane and tried to enter the cockpit, but was unsuccessful. He turned the airplane away from a fuel storage tank before he was dragged to the ground. The airplane departed the ramp surface, contacted an adjacent ditch, and nosed over. The pilot's wife stated that the throttle may have opened up after the airplane started moving.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4373L
- Reported as
- Cessna 172G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17254450
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Nelson Air Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 28, 1989 · 31 hours before
- Airport
- AL15 · Jack Edwards
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
- 69
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 31,670 total · 2,700 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PNS, 22 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.