- Date
- November 23, 1997, 11:04 local (16:04 UTC)
- Place
- Tiverton, OH
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N83101Aeronca 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 15, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971123034289A
- Case key
- 39504
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 failure to properly set the airplane controls prior to hand propping. Factors in the accident were the pilot's failure to properly chock the wheels and his decision to leave the cockpit unmanned during 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
During final approach to landing, the pilot experienced a loss of engine power. He completed the landing to the runway and taxied to the infield to attempt a restart. The pilot placed one wheel chock in front of the right main gear, set the engine power controls, and attempted the restart by hand propping. After the second attempt, the pilot released the propeller and stepped away from the airplane. The airplane's engine backfired, started, and the airplane departed the airport unmanned. The airplane flew 1 hour and 48 minutes until it lost engine power, descended, and crashed into a bean field.
Factual narrative
On November 23, 1997, at 1104 eastern standard time, an Aeronca 7AC, N83101, was substantially damaged during landing near Tiverton, Ohio. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the unmanned flight that originated at Urbana, Ohio, at 0916. No flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a report from the Urbana Police Department, the pilot landed on Runway 23 at Grimes Field Airport (I74), Urbana, Ohio. The airplane's engine stalled, and the pilot taxied the airplane to a grassy area to attempt a restart. According to the report:
"[The pilot] attempted to restart the aircraft by hand-propping the propeller, standing to the side of the single propeller. After 4 or 5 attempts, [the pilot] turned the ignition off and turned the propeller in reverse to remove any excess fuel and then attempted to restart the plane again. The plane's engine reportedly backfired and started as [the pilot] began walking away from the aircraft. The airplane began travelling eastbound through the airfield nearly striking a plane taking off on the runway, and a nearby hangar as it became airborne...[The airplane] started circling the interior of the field at low altitude, then flew out of the airport traffic area travelling east."
A private citizen in his airplane followed N83101 from Urbana, to Marysville, Ohio. The Ohio State Police monitored the remainder of the flight from a helicopter.
The police report further stated:
"The State Highway Patrol tracked the aircraft near Delaware, Ohio, at 10,000 feet above ground level and observed the aircraft climb to 12,000 feet into Coshocton County, Ohio, where the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed in a bean field..."
The airplane flew unmanned for 1 hour and 48 minutes and the certificated private pilot was not injured.
In a written statement, the pilot said he attempted the restart to taxi the airplane from the infield to the parking apron at I74. Prior to the restart, he placed one wheel chock in front of the right main landing gear.
In the NTSB Form 6120. 1/2 Recommendation Section (How Could This Accident Have Been Prevented), the pilot stated:
"Trim set full forward (Down) and qualified 'taildragger' pilot inside of aircraft."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83101
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-1758
- Airframe hours
- 3,140
- Engine
- Continental A-65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert W. Cook
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1997 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- I74 · Urbana, OH
- Airport
- I74 · Grimes Field, runway 23, 3,474 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 913 total · 114 in this make and model · 797 as pilot in command · 34 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 95 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.