What happened
On June 4, 2015, at approximately 11:00 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150 was being prepared for a group instructional flight at the Pevine Bar Airstrip in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, located about 15 miles east of McCarthy, Alaska.
To prevent mosquito swarms from entering the aircraft during loading, the engines of four airplanes in the group were started and left idling while the cockpits were unattended. While the pilot was loading gear on the right side of N985W, an adjacent, unoccupied Piper PA-18 began moving forward slowly. In an attempt to move around the front of his aircraft toward the left wing, the pilot made contact with the rear of the spinning propeller, resulting in being struck three times. The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury, while the aircraft sustained minor damage.
Weather at the time was visual meteorological conditions with a visibility of 10 statute miles and winds from 040 degrees at 7 knots.