Cessna 172RG N5219U

Summary

On 16 May 2013 at about 10:00 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N5219U, operated by Omega Protein Inc, was involved in an accident near Abbeville, Louisiana, 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

16 May 2013 at 10:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Abbeville, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Abbeville (IYA)

Coordinates

29.9719, -92.0839

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N5219U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Omega Protein Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Abbeville → Abbeville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN13CA282

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to properly secure the airplane before hand starting the engine and the failure of the brass tie down hook.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane's engine battery was dead so the pilot elected to hand-prop the engine. He tied the tail of the airplane down via a brass snap-hook that attached to a metal fastener underneath the airplane's tail section. The snap-hook was attached to a rope that was secured to the ground. The pilot set the parking brake and checked the throttle position; however, he did not secure the wheels with chocks. The engine started on the third attempt and RPM increased as the pilot walked back toward the cockpit. Before he got there, the brass snap-hook broke and the airplane began to roll forward. The pilot was unable to access the cockpit and the airplane traveled unattended until it collided with a parked airplane resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.