Piper PA-28-235 N8746W

Summary

On 15 October 2011 at about 13:05 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N8746W, operated by Duewest Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Radnor, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 October 2011 at 13:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Radnor, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Packer Airport (5E9)

Coordinates

40.4081, -83.2194

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N8746W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Duewest Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Radnor → Delaware

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA032

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to properly secure the engine controls prior to manually rotating the propeller, which led to an inadvertent engine start and runaway airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was unable to start the engine using the cockpit's engine controls and he suspected that the starter drive gear was not engaging the propeller ring gear. He exited the airplane to rotate the propeller by hand in order to manually engage the starter's drive gear. As he rotated the propeller, the engine started and the unoccupied airplane proceeded across the airport, colliding with a hangar. The pilot reported that after the accident he found the airplane's ignition key was selected to one magneto instead of being in the full-off position. He also stated that he had left the mixture and throttle levers in the full-forward position and that he had not used the parking brake. The airplane's wings, vertical stabilizer, rudder, and fuselage were substantially damaged.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.