The pilot prepared to hand-prop the Aeronca, which was not equipped with an electrical starter, by tying the tail down with a nylon rope.
He then hand-propped the engine, which started at a high power setting.
The airplane moved forward, breaking the rope, and continued to taxi in circles.
The pilot and another individual tried to stop the airplane, however the propeller struck the pilot, resulting in fatal injuries.
The airplane eventually came to stop farther down the runway at the airport in Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper starting procedure before hand propping the engine, and his subsequent attempt to stop the moving airplane, which resulted in him being struck by the propeller.
NTSB Identification: CEN17LA234
This June 2017 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Rope…….the stuff one uses to tie the aircraft down.
The NTSB found that the pilot improperly hand propped the airplane. Could they find any direction in the regs or AIM that he violated? Apparently not or they would probably have quoted it, wouldn’t they?
Obviously this pilot had hand propped this plane before, since he brought rope with him… You see, an airplane can jump chocks. I used to do it on purpose (nose wheel) until someone explained how that is really a bad idea (with examples). Therefore, had the rope not broken, the pilot had a 99.9999% probability of NOT being struck by the prop.
So one is left with, has anyone at the NTSB ever hand-propped an airplane that has no electrical system or starter? Because the finding belies the situation regardless of the armchair pilots that post here.
If you properly hand prop, why do you need a rope? Rope is only if you screw up.
Not a pretty way to die!
I am amazed (again) at pilots and some mechanics who attempt to hand-prop an aircraft without first having been instructed on how to properly do so. It isn’t a quick flip of a prop blade and “I’m good to go”. There are proper procedures that must be followed that I won’t go into here. In my time, I’ve had occasion to hand prop more tha quite a few aircraft, and each time, those procedures and precautions were taken. Hand propping can be dangerous, and even deadly, but generally only if the “propper” makes it so.