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LAX90LA225

1990-06-20 · SANTA ANA, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SNA

Current FAA registration · N4034B

Make / Model
BELLANCA 17-30A
Year of manufacture
1975 · 15 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4BAAC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S USE OF AN IMPROPER STARTING TECHNIQUE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING THE PREFLIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT HE DISCOVERED THAT THE BATTERY WAS DEAD. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE SET THE BRAKES AND THEN BEGAN TO HAND PROP THE AIRCRAFT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE AN ENGINE START. THE ENGINE STARTED AND REPORTEDLY WENT TO A HIGH POWER SETTING. THE AIRCRAFT JUMPED THE CHOCKS AND COLLIDED WITH A PARKED AIRCRAFT, A LIGHT POLE AND THEN A FENCE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_LAX90LA225.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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