Wellington Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wellington, Kansas 67152
Monday, May 31, 2010 13:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/31/2010
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1320
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Wellington
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67152
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 371915N
Event Location Longitude 0902311W
Event Location Airport Wellington AIrport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EGT
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 --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27116
NTSB Notification Source ICT FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2010 7:59PM
User who most recently changed record gamw
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N78612
NTSB Number CEN10CA300
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17257686
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LIND EDWARD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 606 SHARON CT
Aircraft Owner City DERBY
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 67037-3607
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name LIND EDWARD
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 606 SHARON CT
Operator City DERBY
Operator State KS
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 67037-3607
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code EGT
Departure City Wellington
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code EGT
Destination City Wellington
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 28 2010 12:01PM
User who most recently changed record yeal
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --