Incident Overview
Personnel at an airport reported that the battery on a tailwheel-equipped airplane was low. The pilot attempted to start the engine by hand-propping. The engine started at a high power setting. The propeller struck the pilot's head, and the airplane began to taxi in a right circle while unattended.
Sequence of Events
The airplane, which was not tied down and had no one onboard, taxied on its own. It first collided with a hangar door, causing the right wing tip to strike. The airplane then continued in a larger right circle and subsequently collided with a parked agricultural airplane.
Damage Details
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector at the scene confirmed substantial damage to both aircraft. Both propeller blades were found bent forward with sections of aluminum missing along the leading edges. The left wing leading edge was significantly bent back and wrinkled from impact with the parked agricultural airplane. The cabin area of the parked airplane sustained structural damage, and its windscreen was broken out.
Background
The flight had been scheduled to confirm water content on selected agricultural fields prior to dispatching agricultural aircraft for aerial application operations.