Aeronca 11AC N9149E

Summary

On 5 July 2021 at about 16:00 local time, a Aeronca 11AC registered N9149E was involved in an accident near Wapakoneta, Ohio, 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

5 July 2021 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wapakoneta, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Neil Armstrong Airport (AXV)

Coordinates

40.4936, -84.2980

Aircraft

Aeronca 11AC

Registration

N9149E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Bay City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA310

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate engine hand propping procedure resulting in the unoccupied airplane’s unintended movement and subsequent impact with a hangar.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was not equipped with an electrical system and the engine was started by hand propping. The pilot reported that he did not have a passenger to hold the brakes in the cockpit during engine start, nor did he use wheel chocks and/or tether the tail to a fixed object because he thought using the airplane’s parking brake would keep the airplane stationary after the engine had started. Before the engine was hand propped, the pilot set the throttle about ¼” to ½” forward of the idle position, but the engine’s speed was much higher than he had expected after the engine started. The unoccupied airplane initially moved forward before it entered a left turn on the ramp in front of a row of hangars. Although the pilot was able to reach into the cockpit to move the throttle to idle, the airplane continued in the left turn and struck a closed hangar door, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.