Danbury Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Danbury, Connecticut 06810
Saturday, June 28, 2014 10:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that following preflight inspection of the airplane he attempted to start the engine using the starter but was unable. He indicated this to be, "an on-and-off issue…" in that he had to hand start the engine once during 5 attempts prior to 5 separate flights the previous weekend. He elected to hand start the engine without assistance because he was unable to locate personnel from the fixed base operator, and asked the non-rated passenger seated in the right front seat to apply the aircraft's brakes. With the airplane unsecured and the throttle applied "a little bit", the engine started. Initially the airplane did not move, but then began to move. He attempted to board the airplane but was unable and it began travelling faster. The airplane turned to the left, went between 2 rows of airplanes and impacted several parked unoccupied airplanes. The pilot further stated that he did not show the passenger how to activate the aircraft's brakes, and believes the passenger may have inadvertently applied left rudder in an attempt to stop the airplane, although the passenger told him he did not recall doing so. There were no injuries to the front or rear seat passengers, and there were no ground injuries. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge contains a section titled, "Hand Propping" which indicates to never allow a person unfamiliar with the controls to occupy the pilot's seat when hand propping. The section also indicates that an additional precaution includes placement of chalks in front of the main tires or if not feasible, the airplane's tail may be securely tied. The excerpts are contained in the NTSB public docket.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's use of a person unfamiliar with aviation and his failure to properly secure the airplane during hand starting of the engine.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/28/2014
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1040
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Danbury
Event State CONNECTICUT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 06810
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412225N
Event Location Longitude 0732901W
Event Location Airport Danbury Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DXR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 457
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID DXR
Elevation of weather observation facility 457
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 33247
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 1 2014 1:14PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7867G
NTSB Number ERA14CA314
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172L
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17259567
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 11 2014 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 5460
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MEI-CHU CORP
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City FLUSHING
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 11358-3144
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jao-Shiang Luo
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City FLUSHING
Operator State NY
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 11358-3144
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code DXR
Departure City Danbury
Departure State CT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MVY
Destination City Vineyard Haven
Destination State MA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 1 2014 1:14PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
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 --