A pilot (reportedly a flight instructor) pulling a Cessna 172's propeller around by hand (to "free" it, according to the police statement) had his plane's engine start unexpectedly on him today, resulting in his plane heading pilotless across the parking area at my home airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional (CHO).

End result: four aircraft were damaged; two of them appear to be total losses.

This runaway Cessna ("172" in the diagram below) was parked directly across the parking-area taxiway from my own plane, a Mooney 231 ("Jeff" below).

Had the Cessna run away straight across the taxiway, my plane would have been destroyed -- rammed head-on and then chopped to ribbons by the runaway plane's spinning propeller. And had it run away diagonally to its left, it would have rammed my friend's Piper Malibu ("Bart" below) in the tail and then chopped it up.

Lucky for me (and Bart) -- but unlucky for some other folks -- it ran away diagonally to the right.

Its (high) wing appears to have passed directly over my plane's (low) wing -- missing it by only a couple of feet! -- as it headed toward, and then smashed into, a Piper Arrow IV's tail ("Arrow" below). The runaway plane then pivoted to its left and tore into the Arrow with its spinning propeller. Additionally, the runaway Cessna damaged a Piper Cherokee 160 ("160" below) and a Piper Archer ("181" below).

              (totaled) (damaged)
      Bart      Arrow      181
      -----     -----     -----
        |         |         |
   |    |    |    |    |    |    |
   |         |     *   |         |
 -----     -----  /  -----     -----
[vacant]   Jeff  /    160
                /  (damaged)
               /
 - - - - - - -/- - - - - - - - - - - taxiway - -
             /
         (runaway)
            172
 -----     -----     -----     -----
   |         |         |         |
   |         |         |         |

Some pictures:

Cessna, meet Piper.

Cessna 172 embedded in the side of a Piper Arrow. Both aircraft appear to be totaled. The Arrow's fuselage is completely ripped apart. Not visible is the Cessna's right wing, which was partially torn off.

Runaway Cessna's propeller scars in the pavement (foreground bottom). My Mooney 231 is in the background. The rope on the right was tied to the tail of the destroyed Piper Arrow. The runaway Cessna approached from the left side of the picture.

Yellow lines in foreground show destroyed Arrow's parking spot. My Mooney is in the background, as is Bart Bartlett; he's standing next to the tail of his Piper Malibu (far right). The runaway Cessna approached from the left side of the picture.

Damaged cowling and spinner of Piper Cherokee 160.

Damaged Piper Archer in the background, with my Mooney's wing in the foreground. (The tiedown ropes of the destroyed Piper Arrow are visible above and below my Mooney's wing.)

My son cutting the ribbon at the dedication of a new Albemarle County firehouse today.

And, finally, the FAA's preliminary accident report.