- Date
- January 8, 1996, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Decatur, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N5505WPiper PA-28-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960108000279A
- Case key
- 19737
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 follow proper starting procedures, and an inadequate tie-down.
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 hand-propping the airplane without a person at the controls. The airplane moved forward and the tie-down chain snapped. In an attempt to stop the airplane, the pilot jumped onto the left wing. Realizing that the wing was going to impact the windsock pole, the pilot jumped from the airplane, and the left main wheel struck the pilot. After traveling approximately 300 feet, the airplane came to rest with the left wing against the windsock. In his report, the pilot recommended having 'a qualified individual in the cockpit when attempting to prop an aircraft.'
Factual narrative
On January 8, 1996, at 1000 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-160, N5505W, struck a pole at the Decatur Municipal Airport, Decatur, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot received serious injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private owner as a personal flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91 with a planned destination of Fort Worth, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed.
On the Pilot/Operator report, the pilot reported that the tail of the airplane was secured with a tiedown chain. Without a person at the controls, the pilot hand propped the airplane. When the engine started, the airplane moved forward, and the "force on the tiedown chain snapped the chain." The airplane pivoted 90 degrees as the pilot maintained pressure on the left wing. After hopping onto the left wing in an attempt to reach the throttle, the pilot realized that the wing "was going to impact the windsock pole" and he jumped from the airplane. The left main wheel struck the pilot. After traveling approximately 300 feet, the airplane came to rest as the wing struck the windsock pole.
On the Pilot/Operator report, the pilot recommended that "a qualified individual [be] in the cockpit when attempting to prop an aircraft."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5505W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-592
- Airframe hours
- 2,709
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Albert L. Roberts
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 27, 1995 · 37 hours before
- Departed
- 8F7
- Destination
- FTW · Fort Worth, TX
- Airport
- 8F7 · Decatur 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 5,390 total · 200 in this make and model · 4,346 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 30 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5505W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.