- Date
- October 18, 2001, 07:05 local (11:05 UTC)
- Place
- Ashland, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N4834GCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20011018031899A
- Case key
- 53631
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 line technician's inadvertent contact with the propeller during a hand-propped engine start.
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
While trying to hand-prop the engine, the line technician was struck by the propeller. The pilot stated that the technician appeared to lose his balance, and fell into the propeller arc. The technician stated that the engine started as soon as he touched the propeller, and that he didn't slip, but that he "wasn't quite ready for the propeller to turn over."
Factual narrative
On October 18, 2001, at 0705 eastern daylight time, a line technician was seriously injured while attempting to hand-prop a Cessna 172N, N4834G, at Hanover County Municipal Airport (OFP), Ashland, Virginia. The airplane was not damaged, and the pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file for the aerial observation flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, during the engine start attempt, the starter would not engage. The line technician tried using a battery cart, but again the starter would not engage. The technician then hit the starter in an attempt to free the solenoid. When that didn't work, the pilot suggested hand-propping the airplane. The technician stated that he was familiar with the procedure, and the two went through the steps of the process. The technician called for the brakes to be held, throttle cracked, and magnetos on "both".
From the pilot's perspective, when the technician attempted the start, he appeared to wrap both hands around the propeller, then pulled it downward using his full body weight. The engine started, and the technician appeared to lose his balance and fell into the propeller arc. "The propeller clipped him in the back, picked up speed, struck him in the right forearm and tore through his right leg."
According to the technician, the engine started running as soon as he touched the propeller. The technician didn't slip, but he "wasn't quite ready for the propeller to turn over." The technician also stated that he had been extremely careful during the start attempt, and if he hadn't been, the propeller "would've taken my head off."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4834G
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-73382
- Airframe hours
- 9,276
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Central Virginia Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 8, 2001 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- OFP · Ashland, VA
- Airport
- OFP · Hanover County Municipal
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
- 28
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- November 30, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 725 total · 40 in this make and model · 196 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.37 inHg
- Observed at
- RIC, 15 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.