- Date
- October 28, 2020, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wabash, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N9171EAeronca 11AC
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) start-up: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA -- Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20201028015939A
- Case key
- 102213
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 failure to properly secure the airplane before beginning the engine start sequence.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was turning the engine through when it started unexpectedly. He attempted to get back into the cockpit to shut the engine down but was unsuccessful. The airplane self-taxied in an arc and struck the hangar before coming to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot noted that the magneto switch was in the BOTH position when he checked it after the accident, and he did not recall turning it on.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9171E
- Reported as
- Aeronca 11AC (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11AC-802
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 1,728
- Engine
- Continental A65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2020 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- IWH · Wabash, IN
- Airport
- IWH · Wabash Municipal
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
- 73
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- September 17, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 208 total · 75 in this make and model · 208 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 7 °F, dew point 1 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- HHG, 16 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 4, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB 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.