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I clearly missed that part of the checklist on shutdown and before starting the pre-flight for the next day’s trip.
The friend I had been visiting came out to the airstrip and was filming my pre-flight in preparation for a close-up shot of takeoff.
What Richard saw shocked him almost as much as it did me.
As I checked the propeller’s leading edges for stone damage and pulled one blade through compression,
the engine fired!
I felt the blade just graze my forearm and narrowly miss my head.
Not enough to break any skin or leave a mark, but enough for me to feel the proximity of the blade.
My reaction is obvious from the video clip.
I ran!
http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/20 ... -the-prop/Finally, every propeller can potentially bite. Make sure you never have any body parts (or anyone else’s) in the arc of a propeller. Stand clear and be ready to jump away should the engine fire up.
I attribute my miraculous escape to the subliminal residue of the training I had received many years ago that just made me wary of any propeller.
However it was also something of a miracle that day.
