Cessna 172K N78612

Summary

On 31 May 2010 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N78612, operated by Lind Edward, was involved in an accident near Wellington, Kansas, 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

31 May 2010 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Wellington, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Wellington AIrport (EGT)

Coordinates

37.2695, -97.3897

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N78612

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Lind Edward

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wellington → Wellington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA300

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to properly secure the airplane while manually starting the engine with the propeller.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot tried to start his single-engine airplane but realized that the battery was dead and his attempt to charge the battery was unsuccessful. He then prepared to hand-prop the engine by setting the hand brake, priming the engine and turning the ignition on to both magnetos. The throttle was set to the idle position. The pilot moved the propeller and the engine started immediately; however, the hand brake could not hold the thrust of the engine and it started to accelerate. The pilot was unable to catch the airplane as it crossed the taxiways and interposed grass before it finally stopped when it collided with terrain prior to the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed that the engine and engine mounts were displaced to the right and that the lower part of the nose landing gear was sheered away.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.