Plane Crash List

Cessna A185E N70037

7 January 2015 · Lewiston, Maine, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 7 January 2015 at about 14:45 local time, a Cessna A185E registered N70037 was involved in an accident near Lewiston, Maine, 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.

The record

Date
at 14:45
Classification
Accident
Location
Lewiston, Maine, United States
Nearest airport
Oxford County Rgnl (81B)
Coordinates
44.1575, -70.4814
Aircraft
Cessna A185E
Registration
N70037
Category
Airplane
Year built
1971
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Lewiston → Rutland
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
ERA15CA095

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to properly set the throttle prior to engine start, which resulted in a loss of control and collision with parked airplanes.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that while preparing for the flight, he initiated the engine starting procedure. This procedure included steps to advance the throttle and engage the electric fuel pump, in order to prime the fuel system. A subsequent step required that the throttle setting be reduced to idle position before engaging the starter motor. The pilot stated that for this step, he unintentionally pulled the propeller control out instead of the throttle control, and when he engaged the starter, the engine started and immediately went to full RPM. The airplane then travelled across the ramp and struck two parked airplanes, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane's left elevator. The airplane then went through an opening in a snowbank and came to rest about 150 yards from where it initially started. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna A185E accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
19 Apr 2014 Cessna A185E
N2219T
Somerville, New Jersey, United States Richard Skevington No injuries -
29 Jul 2013 Cessna A185E
N4557F
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States Northwestern Aviation Services Inc No injuries -
11 Jul 2017 Cessna A185E
N185LC
Nampa, Idaho, United States - No injuries -
5 Jan 2013 Cessna A185E
N4538F
Skwentna, Alaska, United States William A Barnes No injuries -
7 Apr 2013 Cessna A185E
N2303Y
Cottonwood, Idaho, United States - No injuries -
22 Oct 2012 Cessna A185E
N1694M
Talkeetna, Alaska, United States Talkeetna Air Taxi Inc No injuries -

All 105 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
4 May 2015 Cessna 180
N2724X
Hartland, Maine, United States Comfort Kenneth W No injuries -
27 Aug 2015 Piper PA44
N553MD
Houlton, Maine, United States Growl Inc Fatal 1
29 Aug 2015 Beechcraft B19
N2013G
Dexter, Maine, United States - Serious injuries -
9 Jul 2016 Mormile Francis W AVENTURA II
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West Pittsfield, Maine, United States - Minor injuries -
1 Jul 2016 Cessna 152G
N4916B
Augusta, Maine, United States University Flying Club No injuries -
30 Mar 2016 Beechcraft C23
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All 170,864 records in United States