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Commander 100 pilot reports briefing a non-pilot passenger on throttle; mixture and brake usage so the pilot can hand prop the engine. The engine is started and the aircraft jumps the chocks; the passenger freezes and the aircraft becomes airborne before crashing back to earth causing damage to the aircraft and injuries to the occupant.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1281927 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201507 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Aero Commander 100 Series |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 3025 Flight Crew Type 800 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Excursion Ramp Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
Wheel chocked; non-pilot passenger in right seat instructed in fuel and mixture retardation; and brake usage. Hand-propped plane and RPM sufficient for plane to jump chock and depart ramp. Hand-propping pilot unable to gain entry into plane; plane took flight eventually; hand-propping pilot let go of strut and abandoned hope of entry into plane falling to ground. Plane got out of ground effect; nosed down; and struck dirt berm; flipping plane onto its back. Passenger suffered multiple facial fractures. Not moving the plane to a place where tail could be tied down; and not tying the tail contributed to the accident. Reliance on non-pilot passenger to operate brake; retard throttle or mixture or turn the key off in a panic situation contributed to the accident. I will certainly never hand-prop another plane without taking more precautions (tying the tail) and giving more consideration of worst-case scenarios such as passenger panic factor impeding their action.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Commander 100 pilot reports briefing a non-pilot passenger on throttle; mixture and brake usage so the pilot can hand prop the engine. The engine is started and the aircraft jumps the chocks; the passenger freezes and the aircraft becomes airborne before crashing back to earth causing damage to the aircraft and injuries to the occupant.
Narrative: Wheel chocked; non-pilot PAX in right seat instructed in fuel and mixture retardation; and brake usage. Hand-propped plane and RPM sufficient for plane to jump chock and depart ramp. Hand-propping pilot unable to gain entry into plane; plane took flight eventually; hand-propping pilot let go of strut and abandoned hope of entry into plane falling to ground. Plane got out of ground effect; nosed down; and struck dirt berm; flipping plane onto its back. PAX suffered multiple facial fractures. Not moving the plane to a place where tail could be tied down; and not tying the tail contributed to the accident. Reliance on non-pilot PAX to operate brake; retard throttle or mixture or turn the key off in a panic situation contributed to the accident. I will certainly never hand-prop another plane without taking more precautions (tying the tail) and giving more consideration of worst-case scenarios such as PAX panic factor impeding their action.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.