What happened
On 24 February 1999, a Piper J3C-65, registration G-AJAO, was involved in an incident at Brunton Airfield in Northumberland. The aircraft was being prepared for a private flight to a farm strip. During the pre-departure phase, the pilot failed to secure the aircraft using wheel chocks.
While the aircraft was parked on a tarmac area, the pilot attempted to start the engine using the hand-swinging method for the propeller. Upon starting the engine, the aircraft began to move forward. In an attempt to reach the cockpit and switch off the magnetos, the pilot tripped and fell. The aircraft continued its forward motion across the airfield strip until it collided with a fence. The impact resulted in minor damage to the aircraft's landing gear, and there were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators established that the aircraft was positioned on a hard surface and that the necessary safety precautions regarding wheel chocks had been omitted prior to the engine start sequence.