- Date
- May 1, 1996, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Pine Bluff, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N351TChampion 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960501009121A
- Case key
- 19825
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 'wrapped' a tie-down chain around the tailwheel shaft prior to hand-propping the airplane. The 'rpm was too high' when the engine started and the airplane came loose from the tie-down and collided with a parked airplane.
Factual narrative
On May 1, 1996, at 1215 central daylight time, a Champion 7AC, N351T, registered to a private owner, collided with a parked airplane after it was hand propped by the pilot and came loose from its tie down at Grider Field, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and the intended destination was Benton, Arkansas.
The pilot reported that he "wrapped [a] tiedown chain around [the] tailwheel shaft" prior to hand propping the airplane. The "rpm was too high" when the engine started and the airplane came loose from the tie down and struck a parked Cessna 152, N6127P. There was substantial damage to the empennage and right wing of the Cessna. The Champion sustained damage to the right wing, propeller, and windshield.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N351T
- Reported as
- Champion 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-3266
- Airframe hours
- 2,897
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bill Henery
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 7, 1996 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- PBF
- Destination
- M99 · Benton, AR
- Airport
- PBF · Grider 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
- Age
- 70
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total · 600 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.