- Date
- September 27, 2025, 19:15 local (Sep 28, 2025, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Stephenville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N26AJVans RV9
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) start-up: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 13, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- Case key
- 201743
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 ensure the canopy and the cockpit were properly secured during the hand prop sequence.
Findings · 2
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
After a brief stopover, the engine failed to start due to a dead battery, and the pilot elected to hand prop the engine. The non-certificated passenger was instructed to apply the brakes, and the pilot successfully started the engine. However, when the engine started, the canopy inadvertently closed, which caused a headset to fall. The headset impacted the engine throttle control pushing it forward, and the engine power increased. The airplane subsequently moved uncontrolled across the ramp with the passenger onboard and impacted the terminal building. The airplane came to rest upright, and the right wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N26AJ
- Reported as
- Vans RV9 (A)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 90444
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 590.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D1F, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 2025
- Airport
- SEP · Stephenville Clark Regional
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 44
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 7, 2025
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 150 in this make and model · 200 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1.5 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KSEP
- METAR
- KSEP 272355Z AUTO 11004KT 10SM CLR 28/12 A3001 RMK AO2 T02830121 10312 20283=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 13, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 30.2 MB in all.