NTSB CHI90LA134 — 1990-05-22 · JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana, United States

Current FAA registration · N733CR

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 14 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19761117
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9D672

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N733CR Cessna 172N None

Probable cause & findings

THE ENGINE STARTED FOR AN UNDETERMINED REASON, WHEN THE PROP WAS MOVED AFTER THE PILOT EXPERIENCED AN INOPERATIVE STARTER. (MOST PROBABLY, THERE WAS EITHER AN ISOLATED/INTERMITTENT PROBLEM IN THE IGNITION SYSTEM OR THE PILOT DID NOT MOVE THE MAGNETO SWITCH ALL THE WAY TO THE OFF POSITION BEFORE MOVING THE PROPELLER.)

Factual narrative

THE PLT THOUGHT THE PROP WAS STUCK, WHEN THE ENGINE DID NOT START WITH THE BATTERY DRIVEN STARTER. HE SAID HE TURNED THE MASTER SWITCH OFF, TURNED THE KEY TO THE OFF POSITION AND PULLED THE MIXTURE & THROTTLE LEVERS ALL THE WAY OUT. HE THEN EXITED THE ACFT TO UNSTICK THE PROP BY A SLIGHT MOVEMENT. HOWEVER, WHEN HE MOVED THE PROP, THE ENG STARTED & THE ACFT MOVED INTO A PARKED AERO COMMANDER. SUBSEQUENT INSPN OF THE MAGNETO SWITCH & MAGNETOS REVEALED NO IRREGULARITIES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_CHI90LA134.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.