# NTSB SEA06CA073: Cessna 170B, N2831C, Havre, MT, April 10, 2006

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report
- Date: April 10, 2006, 08:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place: Havre, MT
- Coordinates: 48.543056, -109.762222
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.5431&lon=-109.7622&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report August 29, 2006
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: FAA FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 63486
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA06CA073
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63486/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA06CA073

## Probable cause

The pilot's improper starting procedures in attempting to hand-prop the airplane's engine.  Contributing factors were the discharged battery, the failure of the right parking brake and the hangar which the aircraft collided with.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- On ground/water collision with object, taxi
  - electrical system,battery - discharged (contributing factor)
  - starting procedure - improper, pilot in command (cause)
  - landing gear,parking brake - failure,partial (contributing factor)
  - object - hangar/airport building (contributing factor)

## Analysis

The pilot/owner discovered the airplane's battery had discharged over the winter months, and was attempting to start the airplane by hand propping it.  The pilot reported that he had set the parking brake, and that the right brake failed during the starting procedure; the airplane taxied into a hangar without an occupant on board.  The outboard two feet of the right wing was bent and wrinkled, and the right flap was pushed into the fuselage.  The Cessna 170B maintenance manual states that a discharged battery should be charged on the ground before attempting flight.  The Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Training Handbook, AC 61-21A, states: "It is recommended that an engine never be 'hand propped' unless a qualified person thoroughly familiar with the operation of all the controls is seated at the controls and the brakes set."

## Factual narrative

On April 10, 2006, at approximately 0800 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2831C, was substantially damaged when the airplane taxied into a hangar without an occupant on board at Havre City Airport, Havre, Montana.  The commercial pilot was not injured.  The pilot/owner discovered the airplane's battery had discharged over the winter months, and was attempting to start the airplane by hand propping it.  The pilot reported that he had set the parking brake, and that the right brake failed during the starting procedure.  The outboard two feet of the right wing was bent and wrinkled, and the right flap was pushed into the fuselage.

The Cessna 170B maintenance manual states that a discharged battery should be charged on the ground before attempting flight.  The Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Training Handbook, AC 61-21A, states: "It is recommended that an engine never be 'hand propped' unless a qualified person thoroughly familiar with the operation of all the controls is seated at the controls and the brakes set."

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N2831C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2831C), registered now, S/N 26374, built 1954 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 170B
- Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (registry code 17012, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 26374
- Airframe hours: 2550
- Engines: Continental O-300 145 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Registered owner: John R. Alex
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2005, 50 hours before
- Departed: Havre, MT
- Airport: HVR, Havre City-County Airport

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 63; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 1, 2005; flight hours: 2,100 total, 1,750 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days, 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 37 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter: 29.67 inHg
- Observed at: HVR

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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