- Date
- October 7, 1989, 11:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Ynez, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N6677CPiper J-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891007039409A
- Case key
- 26667
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
Failure of the pilot to adequately secure the aircraft before hand propping the engine.
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 placed his aircraft's throttle in the full open position to clear the flooded engine, and then he rotated the propeller by hand several times. The pilot then turned on the ignition and again rotated the propeller by hand. The engine started. However, because the pilot had failed to adequately secure the aircraft to the parking facility and had 'mistakenly' left the throttle 'full open', when the engine started, the airplane jumped over the chocks. The unoccupied aircraft took off, climbed to 150 ft AGL, rolled left, and descended until crashing onto airport property.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6677C
- Reported as
- Piper J-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1604
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Arthur D. Tennant
- Departed
- IZA · Santa Ynez, CA
- Airport
- IZA · Santa Ynez
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 625 total · 9 in this make and model · 610 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.