- Date
- November 18, 2003, 10:05 local (15:05 UTC)
- Place
- Daytona Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N6013MBeech BE-76
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031118037559A
- Case key
- 58451
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's improper starting procedure which led to inadvertent activation of the propeller.
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
Witnesses seated in the airplane stated that the pilot-in-command (PIC) had initially boarded the airplane and sat in the left seat. They said the PIC then said something about the starter, and before saying anything else, stepped out of the cockpit and went to the left propeller. They said they saw the PIC move the propeller, and the next thing they knew he had disappeared from view. After calling out to the PIC and subsequently exiting the airplane, they saw the PIC laying on the ground in a pool of blood. One of the witnesses said he then pulled the pilot to avoid the arc of the propeller, and both witnesses stated that the left propeller had moved and had struck the PIC in the head and he had incurred a serious injury.
Factual narrative
On November 18, 2003, about 1005 eastern standard time, a Beech BE-76, N6013M, registered to JHB Flying Inc., and operated by Falcon Flight Center, had the propeller strike the pilot, while the airplane was being prepared for a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial-rated flight instructor received serious injuries, and neither the student pilot nor the one passenger in the airplane received injuries. The airplane was not damaged. The airplane was being prepared to be flown when the accident occurred.
Witnesses seated in the airplane stated that the pilot-in-command (PIC) had initially boarded the airplane and sat in the left seat. They said the PIC then said something about the starter, and before saying anything else, stepped out of the cockpit and went to the left propeller. They said they saw the PIC move the propeller, and the next thing they knew he had disappeared from view. After calling out to the PIC and subsequently exiting the airplane, they saw the PIC laying on the ground in a pool of blood. One of the witnesses said he then pulled the pilot to avoid the arc of the propeller, and both witnesses stated that the left propeller had moved and had struck the PIC in the head and he had incurred a serious injury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6013M
- Reported as
- Beech BE-76
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- ME-102
- Airframe hours
- 7,609
- Engine
- Avco Lycoming, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Falcon Flying Center
- Registered owner
- JBH Flying Inc.,
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 10, 2003 · 65 hours before
- Airport
- DAB · Daytona Beach
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- October 23, 2003
- Flight hours
- 1,850 total · 400 in this make and model · 1,700 as pilot in command · 158 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- DAB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.