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Atlas / NTSB / NYC06CA211

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event NYC06CA211

2006-06-15 Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States Airport · VA52 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper engine starting procedure, resulting in an uncontrolled taxi, and collision with trees.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, after arriving at his destination airport and shutting off the airplane, he discovered that the "battery was too light" to start the engine again. After shutting off the fuel, he then attempted to hand start the airplane. He was able to start the engine, however; it "revved well beyond what was normal." He expected the engine to stall out, but it did not and the airplane moved forward, rolled down a steep embankment and struck trees, substantially damaging the airplane. According to FAA publication FAA-P-8740-20, "No one should attempt to start an aircraft engine without a qualified person at the cockpit controls." According to the pilot, after arriving at his destination airport and shutting off the airplane, he discovered that the "battery was too light" to start the engine again. After shutting off the fuel, he then attempted to hand start the airplane. He was able to start the engine, however; it "revved well beyond what was normal." He expected the engine to stall out, but it did not and the airplane moved forward, rolled down a steep embankment and struck trees, substantially damaging the airplane. According to FAA publication FAA-P-8740-20, "No one should attempt to start an aircraft engine without a qualified person at the cockpit controls." Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2006_NYC06CA211.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗