WPR23LA072
2022-12-13 · Liberal, Kansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport KLBL
Current FAA registration · N253SB
- Make / Model
- CESSNA 441
- Engine
- AIRESEARCH TPE331 SERIES (904 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 10 seats · 2 engines
- Last airworthiness date
- 19901030
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A26435
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, failure to set the parking brake, and his decision to exit the airplane with engines running to remove a wheel chock, resulting in the airplane’s unintended movement and subsequent collision with a hangar.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the multiengine airplane reported that, he had preflighted the airplane about 2 hours before his intended departure and asked ground crew to reposition the airplane. When the pilot was ready for departure, he reported that he did not do another preflight, but only walked around the nose of the airplane to get to the entrance door. After he started both engines, the airplane would not taxi forward. The pilot reported that he thought that he set the brakes, reduced both engines to an idle power setting, and exited the airplane. The pilot observed a chock on the airplane’s nosewheel, and after he removed the chock, the airplane began to move forward. He attempted to reboard the unoccupied airplane, however, was unable to and the airplane subsequently collided with a hangar. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action sequence-Pilot
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
- — Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine controls-(general)-Incorrect use/operation
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2022_WPR23LA072.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.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
- NTSB CAROL Agency ↗
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type. All research papers