Incident
On 4 April 1999 at 1230 UTC, a Beech 76, registration G-BXXT, taxied to the parking area at Southampton Airport, Hampshire, following a flight from Old Sarum Airfield. The pilot set the parking brake by depressing the brake pedals and pulling out the parking brake handle, with the engines at idle power. The pilot then increased engine power to the recommended setting of 1,200 RPM for engine cooling before shutdown.
While conducting shutdown checks with the aircraft checklist, the pilot was "head down" and unaware that the aircraft began to move forward slowly. The aircraft subsequently struck the tail of a parked Cessna 421. After the impact, the pilot completed the shutdown checks and vacated the aircraft normally.
Investigation
An engineering inspection found no defect with the parking brake system. The aircraft's operator noted that the effectiveness of the parking brake was directly proportional to the amount of pressure applied to the brake pedals at the time of parking brake application.
Damage included both propellers, the nose fuselage, and the front windscreen. There were no injuries to the pilot, who was the sole occupant.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a Commercial Pilot's Licence with an Instrument Rating, aged 40, with a total flying experience of 312 hours, of which 2 hours were on the Beech 76 type. In the last 90 days, the pilot had flown 2 hours, and in the last 28 days, 2 hours.
The source of information was the Aircraft Accident Report Form submitted by the pilot.