- Date
- February 4, 2012, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Forks, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N5687FAlon A2
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) start-up: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 2, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20120204001289A
- Case key
- 82835
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 incorrect placement of the throttle prior to starting the airplane by hand. Contributing to the accident was that the pilot did not ensure that the airplane was restrained in a manner that would keep it from moving forward.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot planned on starting his airplane by turning the propeller by hand, because the airplane’s battery was dead. After loading his passenger, he set the throttle and the parking brake, but he elected not to tie down the airplane or place chocks in front of its wheels. When he pulled the propeller through, the engine started immediately as he intended. However, he had placed the throttle in a position that resulted in a higher rpm than he expected. Due to the high rpm, the parking brake was unable to hold the airplane in position, and it started rolling forward with only the passenger inside. The pilot attempted to reenter the airplane, but he was unable to do so. Although the passenger was able to steer the airplane along the taxiway, she did not know how to stop it, and it eventually went through a fence and over an embankment. During the accident sequence, the fuselage and the wings were substantially damaged. According to the pilot, there were no malfunctions or anomalies with the parking brake system or the throttle mechanism.
Factual narrative
The pilot, who due to a dead battery, planned on starting his airplane by hand-propping it. After loading his passenger, he set the throttle and the parking brake, but he elected not to tie the airplane down or place chocks in front of its wheels. When he pulled the propeller through, the engine started right up as he intended, but he had placed the throttle in a position that resulted in a higher RPM than he had expected. Due to the high RPM, the parking brake was unable to hold the airplane in position and it therefore started rolling forward with only the passenger inside. Although the pilot attempted to reenter the airplane, he was unable to do so. While the passenger was able to steer the airplane along the taxiway, she did not know how to stop it, and it eventually went through a fence and over an embankment. During the accident sequence both the fuselage and the wings were substantially damaged. According to the pilot, there was no malfunction or anomaly related to the parking brake system or the throttle mechanism.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5687F
- Reported as
- Alon A2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- A-187
- Engine
- Cont Motor C90 SERIES, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robinson David E
- Registered owner
- Robinson David E
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- S18 · Forks, WA
- Destination
- KFHR · Friday Harbor, WA
- Airport
- S18 · Forks Airport
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
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 4, 2010
- Flight hours
- 916 total · 482 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 1, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.