Piper PA-17 accident near Mansfield, Massachusetts, June 7, 1997
On June 7, 1997 at about 2:24 pm local time, a Piper PA-17, registered N4832H, suffered minor damage in an accident near Mansfield, Massachusetts (Mansfield Municipal). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadequate procedure for hand-prop starting of the engine.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 7, 1997 · about 2:24 pm local time · cases in 1997
- Place
- Mansfield, Massachusetts · Mansfield Municipal · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-17 · all PA-17s on the register
- Registration
- N4832H · no longer on the register · serial 17-130
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and passenger had flown to the airport earlier to have breakfast. While preparing for engine start the pilot noted that the engine was still '...hot.' He stated that the engine was difficult to start when warm and that it flooded quickly if not started right away. The pilot said the passenger hand-propped the airplane unsuccessfully 8 to 10 times and the engine flooded. The pilot stated that he turned the magneto switch to 'off,' pushed the throttle in, and instructed the passenger to pull the propeller through backwards 12 times to clear the flooded engine. The pilot stated: 'At this point a guy walks up and says, 'I'll take it from here.' The guy yelled, 'mags off!', and I yelled 'mags off, but wait a minute!' He was way too close to the spinner. He pulled it through, I heard this 'clunk', and he fell down out of my view. The airplane did not start. We got out of the plane and saw that it hit his left knee. A witness who observed the pilot and passenger as they attempted to handprop start the engine described their actions as 'extremely thorough and conscientious.' According to the witness, the other person came over. The pilot waved him away, but he pulled the propeller through..
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 375 hours in all; 275 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 375 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,400 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 30, 1997; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-90-14F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1B9
- Destination: CQX Chatam MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from BOS, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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
- N4832H: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Piper PA-17 Vagabond 97 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,840 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental C-90-14F 11 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Mansfield Municipal · nearest airport
- Chatham Municipal · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Massachusetts 987 since 1982 · 90 in the last ten years
- Massachusetts 2,645 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/NYC97LA106.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.