Incident Overview
A pilot experienced an unexpected sequence of events while hand-propping an aircraft engine, leading to the aircraft taking off without a pilot and crashing in mountainous terrain. The aircraft, which lacked an electric starter, was routinely started by hand. The pilot reported that after multiple unsuccessful attempts to start the engine by hand-propping, he suspected the engine was flooded.
Pilot Actions Before Start
The pilot entered the cockpit and turned the magneto switch from "both" to "off" and advanced the throttle to the full throttle position. He then manually turned the engine backwards 10 revolutions. Subsequently, he returned to the cockpit and switched the magneto back to "both," but he forgot to retard the throttle to the idle position.
Uncontrolled Takeoff
When the pilot next propped the engine, it started at maximum power. The pilot attempted to restrain the aircraft but could not hold it back. The aircraft moved forward and took off with no one aboard.
Discovery of Aircraft
The aircraft was located the following morning approximately 45 miles northeast of the departure point, having crashed in mountainous terrain.