# NTSB DFW06LA074: Champion 7ECA, N9007L, Forrest City, AR, February 24, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 24, 2006, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Forrest City, AR - Coordinates: 34.936389, -90.771667 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9364&lon=-90.7717&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report June 27, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA, FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 63287 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DFW06LA074 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63287/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW06LA074 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to follow proper procedures while attempting to start the engine by hand-proping the engine. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, standing - starting engine(s) - electrical system,battery - discharged - starting procedure - improper, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis Personnel at the airport reported that the battery on the tailwheel equipped airplane was low. The pilot subsequently proceeded to attempt to start the engine by hand-propping. The engine started at a high power setting. The propeller struck the pilot's head and the airplane began to taxi in a right circle while unattended. The right wing tip collided with a hangar door and continued in a larger right circle, subsequently colliding with a parked agricultural airplane, causing substantial damage to the parked airplane. The flight had been schedule to confirm water content on selected agricultural fields prior to dispatching agricultural aircraft for aerial application operations. The airplane was not tied-down and no one was onboard the airplane when the hand-propping was attempted. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector at the scene of the accident confirmed substantial damage to both aircraft. Both propeller blades were found bent forward and had sections of aluminum missing along the leading edges. The left wing leading edge was significantly bent back and wrinkled when it impacted the parked aerial application airplane. The cabin area of the parked airplane sustained structural damage and the windscreen was broken-out. ## Factual narrative On February 24, 2006, at 1030 central standard time, a single-engine Champion 7ECA tailwheel equipped airplane, N9007L, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while the pilot was attempting to prop-start the engine at the Forrest City Municipal Airport, near Forrest City, Arkansas. The commercial pilot was fatally injured when he was struck by the propeller. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerial observation flight. The local flight was originating from the Forrest City Municipal Airport (FCY), near Forrest City , Arkansas. According to personnel at the airport, the airplane's battery was low and the pilot attempted to start the engine by hand-propping. The engine started at a high power setting. The propeller struck the pilot's head and the airplane began to taxi in a right circle while unattended. The right wing tip collided with a hangar door and continued in a larger right circle, subsequently colliding with a parked Air tractor, N6072Y, which resulted in structural damage to the parked airplane, as well as to the unattended aircraft. The flight had been scheduled to confirm the water content on selected agricultural fields prior to dispatching agricultural aircraft for aerial application operations. The airplane was not tied- down and no one was onboard the airplane when the hand-propping was attempted. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector at the scene of the accident confirmed structural damage to both aircraft. Both propeller blades on N9007L were found bent forward and had sections of aluminum missing along the leading edges. The left wing leading edge was significantly bent back and wrinkled when it impacted the parked Air tractor. The cabin area of the parked airplane sustained structural damage and the windscreen was broken-out. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9007L](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9007L-2017-06-07), registration cancelled 2017-06-07, S/N 752-70, built 1970 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Champion 7ECA - Registry model: [Champion 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7eca) (registry code 21101NN) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 752-70 - Airframe hours: 1825 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 115 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial observation, Part 91 - Registered owner: Dwight W. Benefield - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, February 1, 2006 - Departed: FCY, Forrest City, AR - Destination: Forrest City, AR - Airport: KFCY, Forrest City Municipal Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: fatal; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; flight hours: 8,750 total, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 30.34 inHg - Observed at: KUTA, 29 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20060224003609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060224003609A), Feb 24, 2006: Bbavia 7ECA, Forrest City, AR, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. (-23) On February 24, 2006, at 10:30 CST, a citabria 7ECA, N9007L, while being "hand-propped" by the pilot, started at a high power setting, and the propeller… ## Other investigations on N9007L (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB IAD71FKM33](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD71FKM33), Apr 20, 1971: Champion 7ECA (N9007L), Star, NC, substantial damage From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.