3 Jul 2009: CHAMPION 7AC

3 Jul 2009: CHAMPION 7AC — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Westminster, MD, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to properly set the throttle for start.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot stated that he attempted to start the engine by "hand-propping." The engine started briefly and then stopped. The pilot added that he then primed the engine but "forgot the throttle in the full open position." He hand-propped the engine again, and it started. The airplane began to accelerate forward and became airborne. The airplane flew down a ravine and collided into trees. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented if the airplane had been tied down during the engine start.

Contributing factors

factor down/mooring
cause Incorrect use/operation
cause Pilot

Conditions

Weather: VMC, wind 320/03kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

Search flights between any two airports with live fares.

By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.

Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.

Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.

NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.