- Date
- January 31, 2006, 12:10 local (19:10 UTC)
- Place
- Rocky Ford, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N28315Interstate S-1A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20060131001599A
- Case key
- 63177
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 use tie downs before attempting to hand-start the engine. A contributing factor was his failure to seek adequate assistance.
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 opened the throttle 1/8-inch and hand-started the engine (starting the engine by turning the propeller by hand). A second person held onto the empennage. The engine started and the person holding the empennage "let go...to get a better grip." The pilot was unable to get into the cockpit so he grabbed the right wing's lift strut. The airplane started turning in circles to the right and collided with a storage building. Several wing ribs were broken and the leading edge was damaged. The lift strut, right landing gear, cowling, engine and propeller were also damaged. The pilot said he was unfamiliar with the airport and did not know where the tie downs were located until someone pointed them out.
Factual narrative
On January 31, 2006, approximately 1210 mountain standard time, an Interstate S-1A, N28315, registered to and operated by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it collided with a storage building while the engine was being hand-started at Melon Field (2V8), Rocky Ford, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and a ground personnel were not injured. The flight was originating at the time and was destined for Canon City, Colorado.
According to the pilot's accident report, he had opened the throttle 1/8-inch and hand-started the engine (starting the engine by turning the propeller by hand). A second person held onto the empennage. The engine started and the person holding the empennage "let go...to get a better grip." The pilot was unable to get into the cockpit so he grabbed the right wing lift strut. The airplane started turning in circles to the right and collided with a storage building. Several wing ribs were broken and the leading edge was damaged. The right landing gear, lift strut, cowling, engine and propeller were also damaged. The pilot said he was unfamiliar with the airport and did not know where the tie downs were until someone pointed them out.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N28315
- Reported as
- Interstate S-1A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7
- Airframe hours
- 923
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mark E. Holloway
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2005
- Departed
- 2V8 · Rocky Ford, CO
- Destination
- 1V6 · Canon City, CO
- Airport
- 2V8 · Melon Field
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.64 inHg
- Observed at
- LHX, 11 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.