Small Aircraft; High Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25; Flight Crew Total 340
Confusion; Training / Qualification; Workload
Conflict Ground Conflict; Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Procedure; Human Factors
I was at the self fueler when I witnessed a man; known around the airport; pulling his airplane; a Luscombe 8A. This man was hand propping his airplane and I did not see any chocks blocking the wheels. There was also nobody inside the airplane. The plane fired up and this man walked to the left side of the plane to get inside. However; the airplane started to move under its own power and got away from him. It continued to taxi on its own power; with nobody in control of it until a pilot bystander was able to run up and grab a strut and stop the aircraft from rolling so that pilot could get in. The pilot then departed the airport. There were at least 4 witnesses to this event.
An observer reported a Luscombe 8A was parked at a fuel pit without chocks; so when the pilot hand propped the aircraft it began rolling and stopped only when a bystander restrained a strut. The pilot departed without comment.