The pilot reported that the Aeronca 65-CA does not have an electrical system and needed to be hand propped to start the engine.
There were no tire chocks or tie-down ropes on the ramp, so he asked for help from an individual at the airport in Deming, New Mexico, whom he believed was a pilot and said that he had experience with assisting in hand propping an airplane.
The pilot instructed the individual on the procedures and with the throttle set to 1/8 inch open, and the individual in the pilot’s seat, he then positioned himself in front of the airplane and spun the propeller.
The engine started as expected and immediately went to a high rpm setting. The airplane began forward movement under high rpm and speed and subsequently hit a light pole and airport hangar after the individual in the cockpit could not stop the airplane. Both wings were substantially damaged.
The pilot reported that after the collision, he found the throttle positioned to the full forward high rpm position instead of the idle position and that the individual reported that he went the wrong direction with the throttle.
Probable Cause: The occupant’s improper throttle movement during the start procedure, which resulted in forward movement and loss of airplane control.
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This December 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I always carried a long rope as part of my toolkit for the rare need of hand propping my 172. Tie the rope to ANYTHING available and roll plane forward to get rope taught before hand propping. Also very helpful was re-phasing the prop to a more comfortable and less dangerous 10 o-clock position on compression stroke. DO NOT HAND PROP on WET GRASS.
Jerry King
In my 70+ years of flying hand proped aircraft, I have seen this exact thing happen too many times when an inexperienced person is lending a helping hand in the start procedure. (Ryans to Staggerwings stories)
A tow cable and chocks are mandatory unless it’s a J-3 Cub where prop from behind, left hand on the throttle and left foot chocking the right tire is easy and safe.
After reading the full report: It seems to me that the probable cause was the FBO owner pushing the throttle forward rather than just leaving it alone. 1/8″ forward should not have been much over Idle RPM (report indicates that this is the setting for idle RPM). And assuming this FBO owner was a pilot turned out to be a mistake (NTSB shows he was unrated).
It might be very interesting to be a fly on the wall in the depositions for this. Newly purchased plane (not a new aircraft) being flown by somoene who does ferry flights. Whose insurance is to cover this? Does the FBO have insurance for FBO personnel causing damage? Does the ferry pilot have insurance that covers a problem like this? Who does the new owner sue? The ferry pilot and the FBO jointly and severally? (NOT an attorney, but have dealt with too many as partners, and with an Insurance Adjuster who was good friend of my father…was exposed to too many issues including accidents with multiple liability problems).
Now let’s add the owner(s) of the other plane that was parked and damaged. Assuming it was insured, who will that insurance company sue in this case?
Then we have the damaged hanger — Is the hangar owned by the FBO or by an individual….
So when it comes out that the FBO owner represnted himself as having helped hand prop’ed many aircraft, and intimated he was a pilot…. And if it is that just by pure dumb luck all parties are insured by the same insurance company… this becomes an argument between departments. But it will probably be at least two different entities if not four with the FBO insurer not issuing aircraft policies and the Hangar insurer (if not already under FBO’s policies) possibly getting into this furball.
And you say you don’t need to carry insurance for your airplane, or renter’s insurance?
At least it was not a Cessna 441. I think that pilot still gets the 1st place award for Stupid Pilot Tricks. but this is a good contender for 2nd place.
Incompetence and stupidity go hand-in-hand..
So, 2 stupid pilot tricks; an unprepared pilot with no chocks, and an FBO that doesn’t have any either…really .? How about a brick or piece of 2×4 with a rope ?
And then the FBO guy doesn’t know the controls on an aircraft.?
I feel sorry for the new owner of this wreck.
Report does not indicate that the plane was parked at an FBO, nor that the assisting individual was an FBO employee.
read the form 6120 in the docket.
The FBO owner was in the aircraft to manage the controls.