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CHI92LA217

1991-11-10 · FARIBAULT, Minnesota, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FBL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S IMPROPER STARTING PROCEDURES AND THE PASSENGER'S INATTENTIVENESS. A RELATED FACTOR IS THE PILOT'S LACK OF SUPERVISION.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED HE AND A FRIEND WERE PREPARING THE PILOT'S AIRPLANE FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE WAS DUG OUT OF A SNOW DRIFT. THE AIRPLANE'S BATTERY WAS TOO WEAK TO START THE ENGINE, AND THE PILOT ELECTED TO JUMP START THE AIRPLANE USING HIS CAR BATTERY. THE PILOT ENTERED THE COCKPIT TO START THE ENGINE AND THE (INTENDED) PASSENGER WAS SEATED IN THE AUTOMOBILE. ONCE THE AIRPLANE ENGINE WAS STARTED, THE PASSENGER EMERGED FROM THE CAR, AND WAS STRUCK IN THE LEFT ARM BY THE PROPELLER AS HE ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE THE BATTERY CABLES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_CHI92LA217.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.