What happened
On 4 March 2019, a DHC-1 Chipmunk 22, registration G-BXHF, was at Redhill Airfield in Surrey for a private flight. The pilot intended to fly the aircraft to Solent Airport in Hampshire to undergo its annual inspection.
During the pre-flight preparations, the pilot attempted to start the engine. After two unsuccessful attempts, which involved manually rotating the propeller to prime the engine, the pilot exited the cockpit to perform a third priming attempt. While the pilot was rotating the propeller, the engine unexpectedly kicked over. The movement caused the propeller to strike the pilot's hand, resulting in serious injuries. Medical personnel from a local air ambulance attended the scene, and the pilot was transported to a specialist trauma hospital, where he remained for 10 days.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of events leading to the engine's unexpected ignition. It was established that during the third attempt to prime the engine, the pilot had failed to switch the magnetos to the off position. The pilot was unable to provide an explanation for why this step was omitted during the procedure.