Only 2 Months Ago AeroSports Update Reviewed An Accident Caused By Hand Propping An Airplane, And Now It’s Happened Again

Within the last couple of months, ANN has reported on two accidents that were the result of hand propping an airplane. One involved in airplane that was unoccupied and simply took off on its own and crashed. The second accident had a non-aviator in the airplane while the pilot attempted to prop the engine. This resulted in a damaged building and a wrecked airplane.

Once again, we asked flight instructor, Earl Downs, who claims to have hand propped airplanes thousands of times, to provide us with a short review of safety issues associated with hand propping an engine.

Downs reiterates that if a pilot does not have training on how to hand prop a specific make and model of aircraft, it’s a bad idea to even try it. He also points out that briefly explaining the brake and throttle operation to a passenger that doesn’t have a clue about airplanes can cause more problems than if the airplane is empty.

Another consideration, according to Downs, is whether the hand propping is taking place on an airplane that has no electrical system, or has an electrical system that won’t allow a normal start. His advice is that trying to hand prop an airplane because the battery is dead or the starter has failed is generally bad idea. This is because there are too many variables of how the ignition system operates during starting.

His advice is, if the airplane is not designed with the intent to be hand propped for starting, don’t hand prop it.

(The pictured single-place ‘Boredom Fighter’ doesn’t have a starter. It has a special latch on the tail for starting tie-down that can be released from the cockpit. This airplane is owned by Scott Rower)

FMI: faasafety.gov