What happened
On August 28, 2018, a pilot holding a PPL(A) license arrived at Babice Airport (EPBC) with the intention of performing a flight to Jastarnia (EPJA) in a Cessna 172S. Following the completion of the pre-flight inspection, the pilot used a tow bar to move the aircraft to the refueling station.
After adding 58 liters of fuel to the aircraft, the pilot disconnected the grounding cable, stowed the refueling hose, and proceeded to conduct a cockpit check. Upon attempting to start the engine, the propeller struck the tow bar, which had remained attached to the nose gear. The pilot immediately shut down the engine. A subsequent inspection revealed damage to the propeller tip.
Following the incident, the aircraft was removed from service. The propeller underwent major repairs, and the engine was sent for technical verification.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the contact between the propeller and the ground equipment. The investigation established that the tow bar had not been removed from the aircraft's nose gear prior to the engine start sequence.