Amateur-built Varieze accident near Enterprise, Alabama, October 8, 2006
On October 8, 2006 at about 9:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Varieze, registered N222DQ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Enterprise, Alabama (Enterprise Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper starting procedure, which resulted in an uncommanded aircraft movement and collision with a hanger.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 2006 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Enterprise, Alabama · Enterprise Muni
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Varieze
- Registration
- N222DQ · registry record · serial 222
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that while hand-propping the airplane's engine as required to start it, the engine started and the airplane began to move. He stated that it gathered speed rapidly and he was unable to stop it. The airplane taxied unmanned approximately 500 feet before colliding into a T-hangar. The pilot reported that the front three-feet of the airplane was destroyed. The pilot stated that the airplane was not chocked at the time of engine start.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 142 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 16,700 as pilot in command; 13,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 2006; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EDN Enterprise AL at 9:00 pm
- Destination: EDN Enterprise AL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from KOZR, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ATL07CA003.