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).
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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 2006 · about 9:00 pm local time · cases in 2006
- Place
- Enterprise, Alabama · Enterprise Muni · cases near this airport
- 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 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N222DQ on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Continental O-200A 295 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Enterprise Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Alabama 1,210 since 1982 · 172 in the last ten years
- Alabama 4,325 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL07CA003.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.