- Date
- May 3, 2015, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- St Marys, PA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Prior to flight
- Aircraft
- N53310Cessna 182T
- Defining event
- Prior to flight: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Alleghany FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150503010459A
- Case key
- 91112
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 decision to rotate the propeller by hand without properly securing the airplane.
Findings · 5
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
According to the pilot, following preflight inspection he attempted to start the engine with the electrical starter but was unable to get the engine to turn over. He turned the magnetos to the off position and then got out of the airplane to "turn the prop through," but was not attempting to hand prop the engine. When the pilot rotated the propeller by hand, the engine started and the airplane immediately began moving forward. He attempted to enter the airplane but was unable to stop the airplane before it impacted an airport building. A passenger was sitting in the front right seat of the airplane and was able to evacuate the airplane after it collided with a building. The pilot stated that he should have chocked the wheels, but he was not planning on starting the engine. According to the airport manager who responded within minutes after the accident, he observed the ignition key selected to the left magneto, and then turned the key off during the post-accident emergency response. The airport manager also reported that the throttle was in the full forward position and the mixture was in the full rich position. During a post-accident examination, a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector found no anomalies with the ignition wiring system or magneto P-leads. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, following preflight inspection he attempted to start the engine with the electrical starter but was unable to get the engine to turn over. He turned the magnetos to the off position and then got out of the airplane to "turn the prop through," but was not attempting to hand prop the engine. When the pilot rotated the propeller by hand, the engine started and the airplane immediately began moving forward. He attempted to enter the airplane but was unable to stop the airplane before it impacted an airport building. A passenger was sitting in the front right seat of the airplane and was able to evacuate the airplane after it collided with a building. The pilot stated that he should have chocked the wheels, but he was not planning on starting the engine. According to the airport manager who responded within minutes after the accident, he observed the ignition key selected to the left magneto, and then turned the key off during the post-accident emergency response. The airport manager also reported that the throttle was in the full forward position and the mixture was in the full rich position. During a post-accident examination, a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector found no anomalies with the ignition wiring system or magneto P-leads. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53310
- Reported as
- Cessna 182T (T)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18281199
- Built
- 2003
- Airframe hours
- 1,231
- Engine
- Continental IO-550, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 27, 2015
- Departed
- OYM · St Marys, PA
- Destination
- PEO · Penn Yan, NY
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- OYM · St Marys Muni
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, Stall warning system
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
- 35
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 27, 2014
- Seat
- None
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 625 total · 625 in this make and model · 575 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KFIG, 22 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 29, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.