NTSB Report Says Throttle Was Half Open When Pilot Manually Rotated Propeller The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on an incident in Homosassa Springs, Fla.on March 14, 2024 involving a Piper J3C-65 Cub says the cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to confirm the throttle position before attempting to start the airplane’s engine by manually rotating the propeller, which resulted in a loss of airplane control. The NTSB report says after refueling his airplane at an intermediate stop and while waiting to start the engine after an unsuccessful attempt, the pilot was approached by an airport tenant who offered some alternate engine-start advice. When subsequent attempts to start the engine failed, the pilot decided to attempt an engine start by manually rotating the propeller while the tenant adjusted the engine controls from outside the airplane. The engine subsequently started at a high rpm and the airplane departed from the chocks and struck an unoccupied parked airplane.
