Hanover County Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ashland, Virginia 23005
Thursday, October 18, 2001 7:05 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While trying to hand-prop the engine, the line technician was struck by the propeller. The pilot stated that the technician appeared to lose his balance, and fell into the propeller arc. The technician stated that the engine started as soon as he touched the propeller, and that he didn't slip, but that he "wasn't quite ready for the propeller to turn over."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The line technician's inadvertent contact with the propeller during a hand-propped engine start.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/18/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 705
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Ashland
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23005
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Hanover County Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OFP
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 654 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 170
Weather Observation Facility ID RIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 168
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.37
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries 1
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11887
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Reg Com Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Oct 18 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 921
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 18 2002 10:15AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4834G
NTSB Number NYC02LA011
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172-73382
Certified Max Gross Weight 2220
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 8 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 35
Airframe Hours 9276
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Central Virginia Aviation, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 23301 Airport Road
Aircraft Owner City Petersburg
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 23803
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Observation
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OFP
Departure City Ashland
Departure State VA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Standing - starting engine(s)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 25 2002 2:02PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --