# NTSB WPR11LA416: Luscombe 8, N45725, Lincoln, CA, August 18, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 18, 2011, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC) - Place: Lincoln, CA - Coordinates: 38.915279, -121.352218 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9153&lon=-121.3522&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Standing-engine(s) start-up: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 8, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 81636 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11LA416 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/81636/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA416 ## Probable cause The passenger's accidental fall while turning the propeller by hand to start the engine. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action performance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Passenger (probable cause); cases with it: [Luscombe 8A, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md?model=8190104), [All aircraft, 1,386 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Standing-engine(s) start-up: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) (defining event); cases with it: [Luscombe 8A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=8190104), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) ## Analysis 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. ## Factual narrative 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." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N45725](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N45725), registered now, S/N 2252, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: LUSCOMBE 8 (A) - Registry model: [Luscombe 8A](https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8a) (registry code 8190104) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2252 - Airframe hours: 2475 - Engines: Teledyne Continental C65-8 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: No damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Earl J Hodges - Registered owner: Earl J Hodges - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 15, 2010, 21 hours before - Departed: CA92, Paradise, CA - Destination: CA92, Paradise, CA - Airport: LHM, Lincoln Regional ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 72; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review November 1, 2010; seat: left; flight hours: 550 total, 20 in this make and model, 370 as pilot in command, 45 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 91 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg - Observed at: LHM 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.