Abbeville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Abbeville, Louisiana 70510
Thursday, May 16, 2013 5:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane's engine battery was dead so the pilot elected to hand-prop the engine. He tied the tail of the airplane down via a brass snap-hook that attached to a metal fastener underneath the airplane's tail section. The snap-hook was attached to a rope that was secured to the ground. The pilot set the parking brake and checked the throttle position; however, he did not secure the wheels with chocks. The engine started on the third attempt and RPM increased as the pilot walked back toward the cockpit. Before he got there, the brass snap-hook broke and the airplane began to roll forward. The pilot was unable to access the cockpit and the airplane traveled unattended until it collided with a parked airplane resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to properly secure the airplane before hand starting the engine and the failure of the brass tie down hook.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/16/2013
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Abbeville
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70510
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 295819N
Event Location Longitude 0920502W
Event Location Airport Abbeville
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IYA
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 16
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 Night/Dark
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) 31550
NTSB Notification Source SWR ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 26 2013 4:23PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5219U
NTSB Number CEN13CA282
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 None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172RG
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172RG0287
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 14 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 18709
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name OMEGA PROTEIN INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 247 J C VORHOFF JR DR
Aircraft Owner City ABBEVILLE
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 70510
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name OMEGA PROTEIN INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 247 J C VORHOFF JR DR
Operator City ABBEVILLE
Operator State LA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 70510
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) Aerial Observation
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code IYA
Departure City Abbeville
Departure State LA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code IYA
Destination City Abbeville
Destination State LA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 25 2013 11:45AM
User who most recently changed record yeal
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 --