# NTSB LAX06TA291: Cessna U206G, N6238U, Wasco, CA, September 12, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Final report - Date: September 12, 2006, 08:55 local (15:55 UTC) - Place: Wasco, CA - Coordinates: 35.61972, -119.353614 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.6197&lon=-119.3536&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 31, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 64572 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06TA291 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64572/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06TA291 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper decision in leaving the engine running while he left the airplane unattended. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, standing - engine(s) operating - planning/decision - improper, pilot in command (cause) - object - fence - aircraft unattended/engine(s) running - intentional, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The pilot had been flying for over 2 hours performing aerial application of sterile pink bollworms when he needed to take a restroom break. He landed the airplane, set the engine at idle, engaged the parking brake, and exited the airplane. While in the restroom, he heard an engine pitch change and heard the parking brake disengage. He exited the bathroom and watched as the airplane started to move away across the parking ramp. The pilot stated that the airplane reached about 30 mph as it departed his immediate vicinity. The pilot chased after the airplane and watched as it went through the airport perimeter fence, struck a sign, crossed two roads, and came to rest adjacent to an almond orchard. The airplane sustained structural damage to the left wing strut and leading edges of both wings. ## Factual narrative On September 12, 2006, about 0855 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna U206G, N6238U, departed the parking area, independent of pilot control, before taxiing through a fence, hitting a street sign, and coming to rest on an embankment 75 yards from Wasco-Kern County Airport (L19), Wasco, California. The airplane was owned by Inland Crop Dusters, Inc., Shafter, California, and operated under contract by the Integrated Pest Control Branch of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) as a public-use operation for agricultural application. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator interviewed the pilot. The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to distribute sterile pink bollworm moths on multiple cotton fields in the local area. The pilot reported that he needed to use the restroom and decided to land at Wasco to use the facility at the airport. The pilot stated that he parked the airplane about 50 feet from the restroom facility, set the engine power at idle, activated the parking brake, and departed the airplane. While in the restroom, he heard a change in the engine sound and heard a distinct "click" of the parking brake disengage, and came out to see the airplane moving. He heard the engine rpm increase from idle to about 1,200-1,500 rpm, and watched as the airplane "sped" away, about 30 mph. As he chased after the airplane, he watched as the airplane hit a bump, turned 120 degrees to the left, went down the ramp at the end of the field, through the airport perimeter fence, hit a street sign, went over two roads, and came to rest on an almond orchard embankment. The airplane sustained structural damage to the left wing strut and leading edges of both wings. In the pilot's written submission, he wrote that stopping the engine prior to leaving the controls was how the accident could have been prevented. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6238U](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6238U), registered now, S/N U20605393, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna U206G - Registry model: [Cessna U206G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-u206g) (registry code 2073356) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: U20605393 - Airframe hours: 6010 - Engines: Continental IO-520-F 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Public aircraft - state, Public use - Registered owner: California Department of Food and Agriculture - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special); Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, September 1, 2006 - Departed: MIT, Shafter, CA - Destination: Wasco, CA - Airport: L19, Wasco-Kern County ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 43; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review December 1, 2004; flight hours: 1,690 total, 396 in this make and model, 1,587 as pilot in command, 295 in the last 90 days, 96 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: BFL, 18 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 20060912018829A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060912018829A), Sep 12, 2006: Cessna U206G, Wasco, CA, Destroyed. (-23) Engine was left running with parking brake set (no chocks, no tie-downs) while the pilot used a restroom adjacent to the parking spot. While indisposed… ## Other investigations on N6238U (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 FTW80FRG22](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW80FRG22), Jan 20, 1980: Cessna U206 (N6238U), Rio Grand City, TX, 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.