Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / CEN13CA202

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN13CA202

2013-03-17 Pontiac, Michigan, United States Airport · PTK None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control after an unexplained increase in engine power while taxiing.

Factual narrative

The private pilot said she was taxing her single-engine airplane to the active runway when the engine suddenly went to full power. She did not recall any engine instrument indications and tried to reduce power by closing the throttle, pulling the mixture control, and applying the brakes. During this time, the airplane veered off the taxiway, impacted a snow bank, and flipped over on its back causing substantial damage to the airframe. Examination of the engine found no mechanical anomalies that would explain why there was a sudden increase in engine power. The pilot had 2,000 feet of taxiway remaining from where the airplane departed the runway. The private pilot said she was taxiing her single-engine airplane to the active runway when the engine suddenly went to full power. She did not recall any related engine instrument indications and tried to reduce power by moving the throttle control to its idle position, pulling the mixture control aft, and applying the brakes. During this time, the airplane veered off the taxiway, impacted a snow bank, and nosed over, coming to rest on its back, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Examination of the engine found no mechanical anomalies that would explain the sudden increase in engine power. The pilot had 2,000 feet of taxiway remaining from where the airplane departed the runway. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13CA202.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.