Primary finding
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to properly secure the aircraft prior to a start attempt by handpropping.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot had instructed the passenger on how to hold the brakes and then exited the aircraft to start the engine by handpropping. After the engine started, the passenger could not control the aircraft and it taxied into a parked automobile before the pilot could get in the door and apply the brakes.
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 2, 1994, at 0850 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182P, N58645, collided with a parked automobile on the Mesa, Arizona, airport after the aircraft started and left its parking space while being handpropped. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a VFR flight plan was filed for the intended cross-country flight from Mesa to Show Low, Arizona. Both the aircraft and the automobile sustained substantial damage. The pilot and one passenger were not injured. The pilot had instructed the passenger on how to hold the brakes and then exited the aircraft to start the engine by handpropping. After the engine started, the passenger could not control the aircraft and it taxied into a parked automobile before the pilot could get in the door and apply the brakes. -