Piper PA 28-140 N9789W

Summary

On 18 July 2014 at about 23:25 local time, a Piper PA 28-140 registered N9789W, operated by Peter K L'esperance, was involved in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 July 2014 at 23:25

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Creve Couer (1H0)

Coordinates

38.6994, -90.4697

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-140

Registration

N9789W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Peter K L'esperance

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Louis → St. Louis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14CA383

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's decision to operate an airplane with a known deficiency and to not properly secure the airplane before hand-starting the engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane's engine starter was inoperative so the pilot decided to hand-start the engine with the propeller to get it started. He had his wife, who was not a pilot, sit in the airplane and hold the toe-brakes with her feet. The parking brake was not set. When the engine started, the airplane began to roll forward, and the pilot's wife was unable to stop it from moving. The wife stated she was scared of the propeller striking her husband so she turned the airplane away from him. The airplane traveled off the pavement, through a ditch, across a soybean field, and collided with a parked airplane resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The parked airplane was also damaged. The pilot said the starter was the only mechanical problem with the airplane prior to the accident. He said it was a poor decision to hand-start the engine with an inoperative starter and he should have secured the airplane until it could be inspected by a mechanic.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.