- Date
- August 23, 1993, 14:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Ashland, NH
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N82819Bellanca 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930823030109A
- Case key
- 38645
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 improper decision to leave the airplane unattended with the engine operating.
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 started the engine of his aircraft, deplaned while the engine was running , and he walked into the path of the rotating propeller. Witnesses said there were other aircraft operating around the accident aircraft at the time. One witness said that when the pilot was in the aircraft, another aircraft taxied by, blowing dust. It was thereafter that the pilot deplaned the accident aircraft.
Factual narrative
On Monday, August 23, 1993, at 1415 eastern daylight time, Mr. James W. Prescott, the pilot a Bellanca 7ECA, N82819, was fatally injured at the Pemi-Riverside Airport, Ashland, New Hampshire. The airplane was not damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot started the engine in preparation for departure, but had not commenced taxiing. Another airplane was conducting an engine run up in front of N82819. A witness, the airport manager, saw Mr. Prescott exit his airplane and walk towards the engine, where he was struck by the propeller.
The Ashland Police Department conducted an investigation, and in a report stated:
It appears other aircraft were being operated at the time of the accident. According to witnesses...an aircraft from the Plymouth Flying Club...was taxiing to the runway. The aircraft taxied by Prescott's aircraft, producing a good amount of dust. This dust was being blown towards Prescott's aircraft. [The witnesses] both stated that Prescott left his aircraft, with the propeller and engine running. He walked into the propeller, coming from the rear of the aircraft towards the front, on the right side facing the propeller.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82819
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-3362
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James W. Prescott
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- NH12 · Plymouth, NH
- Airport
- NONE · Pemi-Riverside
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 250 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.