NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI90LA134
Registry · N733CR
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
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
Registrant of record
NIXON KENDAL H
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
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 ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.