Piper PA-30 accident near Tallahassee, Florida, December 26, 2002
On December 26, 2002 at about 12:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-30, registered N752CF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Regional 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 start procedure which resulted in an unintentional engine start, and unoccupied aircraft collision with hangar structure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 26, 2002 · about 12:15 pm local time
- Place
- Tallahassee, Florida · Tallahassee Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30 · all PA-30s on the register
- Registration
- N752CF · registry record · serial PA30-592
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot he pulled the airplane from the hangar and was intending to fly to Miami. He could not start the left engine so he exited the airplane and proceeded to pull the propeller. The left engine inadvertently started, and collided with a hangar door, with the engine running. The pilot told the police "...he...went to start the left engine and the engine starter hung up, so he got out of the aircraft and went to turn the left propeller, and the engine started since the switches had been left on the on position."
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,479 hours in all; 937 in this make and model; 56 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-32-B!A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TLH Tallahassee FL
- Destination: Miami FL
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N752CF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.