Pearce Ferry Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Meadview, Arizona 86444
Tuesady, January 25, 2011 12:45 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he had shutdown the engine on a remote dirt airport to inspect the tires before takeoff. When he attempted to restart the engine the battery was insufficiently charged and would not start the engine. The pilot decided to attempt to start the engine by hand propping it. He set the throttle, brake, and turned the magnetos to on. The pilot used a hand-prop method to attempt to start the engine. The engine ultimately started but accelerated before the pilot could enter the airplane, first hitting a berm and then continuing over a cliff. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to properly secure the airplane while manually starting the engine with the propeller, resulting in inadvertent movement of the airplane and collision with the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/25/2011
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Meadview
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 86444
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360535N
Event Location Longitude 1140248W
Event Location Airport Pearce Ferry Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID L25
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2941
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID HND
Elevation of weather observation facility 2497
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 48
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
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) 28180
NTSB Notification Source FAA WP Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2011 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3751U
NTSB Number WPR11CA107
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28R-201T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28R-7703206
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 4 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9
Airframe Hours 2698
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name TOBIAS STACY
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LAFAYETTE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94549-3815
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name TOBIAS STACY
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City LAFAYETTE
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94549-3815
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BVU
Departure City Boulder City
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 855
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BVU
Destination City Boulder City
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2011 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --