Cessna 182 N3473U accident near Robstown, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to set the friction lock on the throttle before hand propping the engine, which allowed the airplane to move forward and impact a credit card machine. Contributing to the accident was the malfunction of the parking brake for reasons that could not be determined.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he parked the airplane in front of the fuel pump and refueled both wing tanks before pushing the airplane back. The pilot reported that, while checking to see if the battery would charge before continuing the flight, the propeller turned slowly, and the engine did not start, so he chose to hand prop the airplane. He set the throttle, mixture, and parking brake, and after several attempts, the engine started. The engine appeared to be at idle, but then the rpms increased. The airplane moved forward and impacted the fuel station's credit card machine before he could enter and stop the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the airframe's bottom firewall area. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the throttle's friction lock was working. A check of the parking brake revealed that, even after the parking brake was applied, the airplane moved, and the brake did not function as intended. The reason for the parking brake malfunction was not determined. The accident is consistent with the pilot not setting the friction lock on the throttle and not verifying if the airplane would move when the parking brake was set.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN20CA047 for the full record.