Narrative
On 24 February 1999 at 1239 hours UTC, a Piper J3C-65, registration G-AJAO, was involved in an incident at Brunton Airfield, Northumberland. The aircraft was being operated on a private flight with one pilot and no passengers. The pilot, aged 65, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had 310 total flying hours, including 100 hours on type, with 11 hours in the last 90 days and 3 hours in the last 28 days.
Prior to departure for a flight to a farm strip, the pilot forgot to load the aircraft's wheel chocks. After landing at the farm strip, the aircraft was parked on a tarmac area. When the pilot started the engine by hand swinging the propeller, the aircraft moved forward. The pilot attempted to reach the cockpit to switch off the magnetos but tripped and fell. The aircraft continued to move across the strip until it was brought to a halt upon contacting a fence, where it sustained minor damage to the landing gear.
Cause
According to the pilot, the cause of the incident was his decision to start the engine while the aircraft was parked on a hard surface with the wheels unchocked.