WPR11LA416

According to the pilot, the passenger was turning the propeller by hand to start the engine (hand-propping) when the engine “kicked back.” The passenger lost his balance, slipped, and fell to the pavement, striking his head. The pilot stated that after the fall the passenger said that he felt fine and that, en route to their destination, the passenger talked as he normally did. The pilot learned that, two days after the passenger suffered the fall, his wife had him admitted to the local hospital and that, the following day, the passenger had succumbed to what the local medical examiner described as a subdural hematoma as a result of an accidental fall.

On August 18, 2011, about 1430 Pacific daylight time, a passenger on a Luscombe 8A, N45725, fell and struck his head on the pavement at the Lincoln Regional Airport (LHM), Lincoln, California, while attempting to hand prop/start the airplane's engine. The passenger subsequently died three days later. The private pilot/owner seated in the airplane was not injured and the airplane was not damaged. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight was preparing to depart at the time, with Paradise Skypark Airport(CA92), Paradise, California, the intended destination. According to a report submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot/owner of the airplane, who occupied the left pilot seat during the attempted engine start, reported that the 87-year-old passenger was experienced at hand propping aircraft, and was to hand prop the engine prior to their departure. The pilot stated that during the passenger's first pull through of the propeller, the engine kicked back and apparently caused [the passenger] to lose his balance and fall backwards on to the pavement, hitting his head when he landed. The pilot stated that when he saw the passenger disappear from his view, he turned the magneto switch to OFF and exited the airplane to see what had happened. The pilot reported that the passenger assured him that he was alright, after which the pilot propped the engine and departed for CA92. The pilot revealed that while en route the passenger spoke as he usually did, and that after they landed and put the airplane in the pilot's hangar, the passenger drove home in his car. The pilot learned that two days after the incident the passenger's wife had admitted him to the local hospital, and that the following day he had passed away. The county medical examiner attributed the immediate cause of death was due to a "subdural hematoma as a result of an accidental fall."