N6491A

On August 9, 1998, at 1045 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 182, N6491A, struck a fuel truck and a brick wall after the pilot attempted an engine start by hand propping the propeller at the Page, Arizona, airport. The aircraft, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage when it jumped the chocks after the engine went to full power, traveled across a ramp area, and collided with several objects. The private pilot and a nonrated passenger, who was in the aircraft at the time, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the personal flight that originated from the Mesquite, Nevada, airport at 1000 the morning of the accident with an en route stop at Page, and terminating at the Raton, New Mexico, airport.

The pilot stated that after refueling, the aircraft would not start and he asked a fixed-based operator (FBO) for assistance. The FBO provided an external power source, but the aircraft still did not start. The pilot stated that he tied the tail down and chocked the nose gear. He reported that he primed the engine fuel system and "accidentally opened the throttle." He then exited the aircraft and hand propped the propeller. The pilot stated that when the engine started it "revved to high RPM, rolled over the chock and pulled the [tail] tie-down loose." The pilot said that he by the time he was able to apply brakes the aircraft had struck the fuel truck and a brick wall.