Incident
On 30 August 2003 at approximately 1400 UTC, an Aeronca 11AC Chief, registration G-IVOR, was being prepared for flight at Bodmin Airfield, Cornwall. During the engine start procedure, the propeller was hand-swung by a colleague of the pilot. On the second swing, the engine "coughed and kicked back," causing the metal trailing edge of a propeller blade to strike the starter's right hand between the base of the little finger and the wrist. This resulted in a deep laceration and a broken bone. The pilot immediately switched off the non-impulse magnetos and first aid was administered.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The aircraft, manufactured in 1940, is a single-engine piston aircraft powered by a Continental A65-8F engine. The commander held a Private Pilot's Licence, was 55 years old, and had accumulated 115 hours of flying experience, of which 65 were on type. In the last 90 days, he had flown 28 hours, and in the last 28 days, 12 hours. One passenger was on board, who suffered minor injuries (the hand injury). The pilot was uninjured.
Sequence of Events
Before the start, normal before-start checks and a cold start priming were completed. The standard start procedure for this aircraft involved hand-swinging the propeller. The pilot's colleague had previously spent almost two hours on another day attempting to start the engine without success. On this occasion, he swung the propeller without expecting the engine to fire and was caught off guard when it did, resulting in the kickback. The aircraft's non-impulse magnetos require a more energetic swing to start the engine compared to impulse magnetos, which produce a spark at the optimal point during engine rotation.
Previous Incidents
According to the report, since February 2000, this was the fifth reported instance of a propeller hand-swing starter suffering injury during the engine start sequence. In three of those cases, the person injured was not expecting the engine to start.