Bellanca BL14-19-3 N7624E

Summary

On 20 December 1995 at about 20:00 local time, a Bellanca BL14-19-3 registered N7624E was involved in an accident near Toledo, Ohio, United States. 3 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 December 1995 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Toledo, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Metcalf Airport (TDZ)

Coordinates

41.5599, -83.4209

Aircraft

Bellanca BL14-19-3

Registration

N7624E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

BFO96LA031

1 person had minor injuries.

an improper splice of the magneto 'P' lead wires, and the pilot's improper positioning of the throttle and mixture controls while he rotated the propeller by hand.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that due to the cold temperature, he decided to rotate the propeller by hand to facilitate the engine start. He stated that he '...checked the magneto [and] master switch to make certain they were off. I overlooked the throttle [and] mixture controls... .' When the pilot rotated the propeller, the engine started, and the airplane moved across the ramp and collided with parked vehicles. The pilot stated that the accident could have been avoided if the magneto 'P' lead wire was properly connected and if he had ensured that the mixture was lean and the throttle was closed. An FAA Inspector stated that a non-standard 'splicing' of the magneto 'P' lead wire connection '...may have had an intermittent connection to ground through the ignition switch,' causing '...either or both mags...to...have been on...irregardless of the ignition switch position.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.