Engine Starts Unexpectedly, Plane Briefly Lifts Off

Stories about aircraft taking off without their pilots were common back in the days when many aircraft engines were started by hand. They still occasionally happen.

Based on local reports from witnesses and law enforcement, it sounds like a pilot in his 70s was preparing to take his 6-year-old granddaughter for a short ride in a 1966 Cessna 150F. After moving the plane out of its hangar at Palestine Municipal Airport in Texas, the man was reportedly preparing to crank the plane, possibly by pulling the prop through manually, with the young girl already inside.

Local reports suggest the engine started unexpectedly, and after taxiing about 300 yards, the plane got airborne and hit a stand of pine trees while about eight feet off the ground.

Neither the man nor the girl were identified. FAA records indicate the plane, N8212F, is owned by Virgil A. Fielden of Fairfield, TX about 30 miles west of Palestine.

A local responder, Anderson County Precinct 2 Constable Doug Lightfoot, told the Palestine Herald-Press the girl sustained head injuries and was lifeflighted from the scene. The grandfather was said to have been knocked down and suffered a gash to his head.

A conflicting witness account said the girl ran from the wrecked plane to get help from some men in a nearby hangar. The FAA preliminary report (below) lists injuries as, "none."

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 8212F        Make/Model: C150      Description: 150, A150, Commuter, Aerobat
  Date: 12/28/2008     Time: 2207

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: PALESTINE   State: TX   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT RAN OFF THE RUNWAY INTO THE TREES, PALESTINE, TX

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: KPSN 282148Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 12/M05 A3027

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: DALLAS, TX  (SW05)                    Entry date: 12/29/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov