N8161M – CIRRUS SR22 – 2012-12-06 NTSB Accident Report

On December 06, 2012, a Cirrus SR22 (N8161M) was involved in an incident near Eden Prairie, MN. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to ensure the airplane was secured prior to attempting an engine start by handpropping.

According to the pilot's accident report, when he attempted to start the engine the starter motor turned but the starter did not engage. The pilot made additional attempts to start the engine with the same result. The pilot turned off the battery master switch, got out and walked around to the front of the airplane. He reached through the door and thought the ignition key was off. He pushed the propeller down through one compression stroke. The engine immediately started. The pilot jumped on the left wing, but fell off. The airplane traveled across the ramp and struck a ditch between runways 28R and 28L, breaking off the nose gear and buckling the firewall. An examination of the airplane and its systems, conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration, revealed no anomalies.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN13CA093. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N8161M.