Accident Overview
On August 17, 2011, at approximately 1500 Pacific daylight time, a Piper J3C-65, registration N3453K, was involved in an engine-start incident at Rohnerville Airport (FOT) in Fortuna, California. The aircraft, configured with tandem seating for two occupants, was not damaged. The commercial pilot and his passenger, who was the pilot's wife, were not injured. One person who was assisting in starting the airplane sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the intended personal flight to Garberville, California. The flight had not yet departed at the time of the accident.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot's written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), he was briefing his passenger on hand-propping procedures when the father of a former student approached and offered to perform the hand propping. The pilot expressed uncertainty about the individual's experience, but noted that the man's daughter, whom the pilot had previously instructed, was present. The daughter communicated to the pilot actions such as "brakes, throttle cracked, stick back, and mags on," which were followed by her father pulling the propeller through. The initial engine start attempt was unsuccessful. The pilot reported that before he could turn the magnetos off, the individual motioned toward the propeller and pulled it through despite the pilot yelling "it's hot." The engine then started, and the individual was struck on the forearm. The pilot asked if he was okay and was told it was only a glancing blow.
The individual who performed the hand propping provided his own statement. He said that after taking a photograph of his daughter, the pilot, and the pilot's wife in front of the airplane, the pilot's wife entered the front seat and the pilot climbed into the rear seat. The individual then moved to the propeller, with his daughter positioned outside on the right side of the airplane. He stated that the pilot called out something similar to "let's give it a try," and he responded with "brakes on, mags off, clear" before pulling the propeller through. The engine did not start, and the pilot asked the man's daughter to prime the engine. She reached into the cockpit, primed it, and moved back. The individual then stated that the pilot instructed him to "go ahead and turn it over three times." He complied without calling out the safety phrase. He pulled the propeller through with his left arm and, while reaching for the other blade with his right arm, the engine started and struck his right forearm. He added that after the initial attempt, the pilot did not communicate with him during the subsequent pulling.
Injuries and Damage
Several weeks after the accident, the NTSB investigator-in-charge was informed that the individual who performed the hand propping eventually received an x-ray of his forearm, which revealed a broken bone. The aircraft sustained no damage, and the pilot and passenger were uninjured.