Bellanca 17-30A N8213R accident near Burnet, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper judgement to relinquish his pilot responsibilities to the passenger with the engine operating, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and impact with a parked vehicle.

NTSB analysis

In preparation for the personal flight, the pilot started the airplane to warm the engine. He then set the airplane’s parking brake and exited the airplane to load baggage while the engine was operating at idle. He asked the passenger, who was not a pilot, to board the airplane while the baggage was being loaded and to pull the mixture control if anything should happen. The pilot then went into the fixed base operator to get his debit card and to use the bathroom. Within two minutes, he heard the engine sound increase, and the airplane taxi into an unoccupied vehicle that was parked about 75 yards away. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the outboard section of right wing.

The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by never placing an unattended non-pilot passenger in parked operating airplane and would be scheduling remedial pilot training with a flight instructor.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN26LA091 for the full record.