Champion 7ECA N9007L

Summary

On 24 February 2006 at about 16:30 local time, a Champion 7ECA registered N9007L was involved in an accident near Forrest City, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 February 2006 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Forrest City, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Forrest City Municipal Airport (KFCY)

Coordinates

34.9364, -90.7717

Aircraft

Champion 7ECA

Registration

N9007L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Forrest City → Forrest City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06LA074

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to follow proper procedures while attempting to start the engine by hand-proping the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Personnel at the airport reported that the battery on the tailwheel equipped airplane was low. The pilot subsequently proceeded to attempt to start the engine by hand-propping. The engine started at a high power setting. The propeller struck the pilot's head and the airplane began to taxi in a right circle while unattended. The right wing tip collided with a hangar door and continued in a larger right circle, subsequently colliding with a parked agricultural airplane, causing substantial damage to the parked airplane. The flight had been schedule to confirm water content on selected agricultural fields prior to dispatching agricultural aircraft for aerial application operations. The airplane was not tied-down and no one was onboard the airplane when the hand-propping was attempted. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector at the scene of the accident confirmed substantial damage to both aircraft. Both propeller blades were found bent forward and had sections of aluminum missing along the leading edges. The left wing leading edge was significantly bent back and wrinkled when it impacted the parked aerial application airplane. The cabin area of the parked airplane sustained structural damage and the windscreen was broken-out.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.